Behind the Mask マスクの後ろ
by TooManySecrets
Summary: No one knew he existed except a few number of trusted people. Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto also known as the youngest ANBU Captain of squad Zero, ANBU's strongest squad. As Yeou, his task to keep the last Uchiha in Konoha alive until all events fell into place and Sasuke finds out the truth. SakuraBashing still. No pairings as of yet but will definitely be YAOI. Don't like? Don't read.
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO NO MATTER HOW MUCH I WANT TOO!**

**Edited**

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**PROLOGUE**

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A small darken figure ran across the rooftops, heading for the open window of the Hokage's office. The figure had been on a solo A rank mission and had been gone for a month and a half, infiltrating and gathering information on the current standing of Kirigakure.

The said figure tapped thrice of the window which made the other occupants of the room sans the Sandaime to turn.

"So you have returned. Seems like another successful mission, Yeou."

Yeou, the ANBU Captain with a fox mask, nodded as he handed a scroll to the Hokage who had finally turned and smiled at him.

The other occupants of the room were Maito Gai, Sarutobi Asuma, Yuhi Kurenai, and Hatake Kakashi. Only the last one knew Yeou. The small ANBU Captain was SSS ranked for more than four hundred kills in three years of service to the Hokage. He had been brought in by the Hokage himself and the now ANBU captain for the last two years had risen up through the ranks quickly.

He was fast, sharp, observant, strict, and very strong. Kakashi had seen it for himself and he knew that if he were to even _spar_ with the captain, Kakashi would lose.

The Hokage unsealed the scroll and read through it as the rest of the people sans the ANBU held their breaths. The Hokage's face had contorted into different expressions until three minutes later a smile had finally appeared.

"It seems that you did more than required. As expected of you, Yeou. You have three days to rest and come back for another mission." The old man said, giving the hidden message only the ANBU captain understood as _'Return home and change. Come back and I shall give you your next mission which will be an A rank with indefinite time of accomplishment._'

The said ANBU merely nodded and vanished before everyone's eyes. Kakashi sighed. His superior always did that as a way to leave or escape. Which ever the situation was. No one spoke for a while until Kurenai finally broke the silence.

"My apologies Hokage-sama but who was that?" she asked and the old man chuckled.

"That was Yeou, ANBU captain of squad zero. He has been captain for the last two years and has never failed in his assignments since entering ANBU. Despite his form, he is intelligent, a genius far beyond that of even Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi combined. " Kakashi acknowledged it with a simple nod.

"He is calm, collected, and highly perceptive. During difficult events, he is still capable of maintaining his composure, assesses the situation, and devises appropriate plans of action. His ability to formulate escape routes on the spot when cornered puts Nara's to shame. His strength can be compared to that of seven to ten S-rank captains of all five countries put together. But most importantly, his loyalty to his village and subordinates surpass all charts as he would and has never left anyone behind. When returning from missions, his team would have little to no physical injuries if he could prevent it." The listeners except Kakashi were stunned. He already knew all this.

For someone so small, Yeou was definitely someone they'd look up too.

"Anyway, Yeou has returned from a month and a half solo A-rank mission to infiltrate Kiri and gather as much information as he could. The scroll he brought back is valuable to the village for future use." Hiruzen told them and they now felt more awed by the young ANBU captain for his actions for the good of the village.

"Uhm… how old is he exactly?" Kurenai asked once more.

The old man chuckled.

"His turning twelve soon."

"WHAT?!" four jounins screamed at the same time.

Kakashi thought that his superior was just small in stature, NOT that he was actually THAT young!

Asuma's cigarette had fell on the as his mind processed the fact that someone who was a decade or so younger than him was ANBU captain for two years!

"So… lets get back to the forming of teams. Gai, I want you to handle Rock Lee, Tenten, and Hyuuga Neji. As you very well know, Rock Lee is a taijutsu specialist as yourself." Sarutobi explained.

"_Not to mention looking like a miniature version too._" Thought Asuma, Kurenai, and Kakashi.

"YOSH! THE FLAMES OF ROCK LEE'S YOUTH WILL SOON BURN BRIGHTER THAN MY OWN!" Gai announced and the rest sweat dropped.

"Asuma, you will have the Ino-Shika-Cho team. Do not underestimate the Nara boy. Despite how he looks, he is a genius as well. He can already use his clan's shadow techniques with ease." Asuma nodded.

"Kurenai, you will be in charge of Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba. I want you to get that girl out of her shell before your team attempts any C rank mission." Kurenai nodded and sighed. It would be a challenge.

"And finally, Kakashi. Your team will be a bit… special. There is an odd number of students graduating so I had to add one more student from another batch. You have Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke and…" he paused as he looked up from the paper in front of him and straight at Kakashi who discreetly held his breath.

"Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto." The room went dead quiet.

They all knew who the boy was. Not only was he the son of the late Yondaime but he was also the container of the nine tailed fox that had nearly destroyed Konoha nearly twelve years ago.

"And why has no one heard of him till now?" Kakashi asked and the Hokage sighed.

"It was thought to be the best solution back then after the passing of the Yondaime. It was also written in his will that no matter what, the council should never touch his son or harm him in anyway. He has been taught within the confines of the Namikaze compound and has never set foot outside. To the rest of the civilians, he is simply Uzumaki Naruto and nothing more. No one has ever seen him aside from myself, Anko, Ibiki, Tenzo, and surprisingly Danzo." He smirked.

"What do you mean 'surprisingly'?" Asuma asked curiously.

"You see, Danzo knew of Naruto-kun's existence of course. He had challenged him to a game of shougi. If Danzo won, Naruto would submit to Danzo's… handling. However, if Naruto won, Danzo would never meddle in his affairs and if he did and Naruto found out, he'd have Danzo's head on the pike faster than Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique. Suffice to say, Naruto won the challenge and Danzo was left with no choice." He told them and chuckled.

Before anyone else could say anything, a knock on the door interrupted the meeting and as the door opened to reveal who it was, Kakashi stared in shock as to see just _who_ had arrived.

Standing before them was a miniaturized Namikaze Minato. Naruto stood straight with no emotions on his face to reveal anything. For someone who had never been out of the Namikaze compound, the boy had perfect tanned skin, bright, blue eyes and spiky, blond hair. He even had jaw-length bangs framing either side of his face. An exact carbon copy of the Yondaime with exceptions of the height since he was still a child.

"My apologies for disrupting your meeting, Hokage-jiji." Naruto apologized and bowed.

Even the voice was nearly the same as Minato's.

Kakashi couldn't help but stare at the son of his late sensei and felt guilty that not once had he been there to care for the boy.

"Not at all Naruto-kun. Come in and I'll introduce you." He said and Naruto did as he was told.

He went over to the Hokage and sat next to him.

"Kurenai, Asuma, Gai, and Kakashi… This Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto, the lady present is Yuhi Kurenai. The one next to her in green is Maito Gai. Beside him is my son, Asuma. And the silver haired jounin is Hatake Kakashi." Naruto turned from the old man to the adults and bowed.

"Yuhi Kurenai jounin level and dubbed as Konoha's Mistress of Genjutsu. Maito Gai, jounin level. Konoha's Green Beast and master if taijutsu. Sarutobi Asuma, jounin level and former member of the Twelve Guardian Ninjas. Lastly, Hatake Kakashi, jounin level, former ANBU, dubbed as the Copy Ninja of Konoha as well as Sharingan Kakashi. The only non Uchiha to have said ability and former student of the Yondaime." He said seriously and the four were amazed. The boy was well informed.

"Correct, Naruto. As expect of you. Genin Team placement will occur in four days so you will be escorted discretely by Tenzo and Ibiki to the Academy. You will be under Kakashi's team along with Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke." Naruto raised a brow.

The hidden message once more was: '_Your next mission is to be on the same team as the Uchiha and keep him in check as requested by your former ANBU colleague, Uchiha Itachi.'_

From the file he had Ibiki provide, the Haruno was only book smart while the last remaining Uchiha was simply a spoiled brat. Ruined by the blunt favoritism of the civilian council since he is the remaining member of the Uchiha clan sans Itachi who had become an S rank missing nin due to his _participation_ in the Uchiha massacre.

It was a bit obvious that Naruto wanted to say something but he didn't which made the other four wonder what he wanted to say.

"So, what brings you here, Naruto-kun? You never leave the compound." Sarutobi asked, pretending perfectly as if nothing else had happened.

"I had Ibiki and Tenzo escort me here to ask about the team placement. I tried to ask Anko about it but she could not give me an answer since she didn't know if I will be placed in a team at all. However, it seems as you already have made them." Naruto answered, playing along before he turned to Kakashi.

"I do expect to never see you holding that horrid book you have on your person whenever I am around. I assure you that you will lose it and will witness it burn to ashes. There are no more copies of said book anywhere here in Konoha, so if you value it, leave it when you are to meet me and the rest of your team." Naruto told him directly and Kakashi shivered.

The tone used was like the same one the Yondaime used before when giving missions and instructions to the ANBU and jounins before. And there was no doubt in Kakashi's mind that his sensei's son would do his threat if Kakashi disobeyed.

"Of course." Kakashi answered after a long pause.

Naruto then stood up and bowed to the Hokage once more.

"Since I have finished my purpose, I shall return home for now." Naruto said and got a nod of acknowledgement before turning to the adults who were still staring at him.

"It was an honor meeting all of you. I shall take my leave now and I wish you all a pleasant day. Hatake-san, I shall see you in four days." He said and proceeded to exit the room without further hassle.

The four adults stared at the closed door before turning to the Hokage who chuckled.

"As you all just witness, Naruto-kun is not very social and very direct when voicing his opinions. He will proceed with his threat Kakashi, so best be on your behavior when he is around." Sarutobi said and got a slow nod.

Kakashi not only met his sensei's son for the first time but was warned and threatened to behave with the same tone the Yondaime used on Kakashi before.

A smile came across his face behind his mask. He just knew that the day of meeting the whole team will be very entertaining.

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**A/N: And here we go! The prologue. How was it? Do you like it? Read and review then please. ^_^**

**Yeou means fox in Korean. Kitsune is too common so I changed it to be different.**


	2. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO NO MATTER HOW MUCH I WANT TOO!**

**Visit my profile for important poll! Vote wisely!**

** Edited. Again.  
**

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**1. Meeting The Team**

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Naruto returned to his home and changed back into a fresh uniform before sending out his fox summons to inform his team to meet him in his office in ten minutes. No one saw foxes leaving the Namikaze compound. In reality, no one ever saw anyone else inside the compound aside from the Hokage, the head of T&I, the bloodthirsty kunoichi, or the young stoic jounin.

It did not even appear that anyone even lived in the compound.

**~Behind The Mask~**

As he sat down, the seven members of squad zero stood up straight in front of the desk of their captain.

"I called you all hear to inform you of a long term mission the Hokage has assigned to me. But this does not mean that we will not have other missions while I have this one." The seven nodded.

"What I'm about to tell you is an SS-rank secret that is punishable by extreme torture and death if caught given out without direct permission from myself and the Hokage." Yeou could see his team stiffen with the mere thought of the punishment.

"First off the mission given is to keep watch over Uchiha Sasuke and keep him from leaving the village by any means necessary. This has been requested by a former ANBU member and is top priority at the moment. In order to do this, I must be placed on the same genin team as the target and make sure that during missions, he remains alive and well." He said as he slowly took off his mask and heard gasps from his team, the first time they ever had done such an act.

"Behind the mask, I am Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, only son of the late Yondaime, Namikaze Minato and the heir to the Uzumaki line from the Land of Whirlpool through Uzumaki Kushina, the Yondaime's late wife. While I perform my mission in person, your task is to guard and watch my back twenty-four seven. You all know that I am also the vessel container of the Kitsune no Kyuubi that nearly destroyed this village twelve years ago. Even if no one knows about it since the council had been banned from speaking of it and Danzo from attempting anything, as squad zero, we are not to be lax with our security measures. Is that clear?" he asked in his commanding voice.

"Sir, yes sir!" they answered as one.

"The jounin assigned to lead the team is a former ANBU as well. Hatake Kakashi, son of the White Fang and dubbed the Copy Ninja of Konoha. He does not know about me being Yeou and it shall remain that way. If ever caught and question, you are to answer that the Hokage had assigned you to guard me at all times. The Hokage knows that this will be the excused used and even Morino Ibiki, Mitarashi Anko and Tenzo will testify if necessary. However, I do expect that it will not have to be so."

"Yes sir." The answered the unspoken question.

"Team placement will happen in four days and I expect you all to be on guard. Our mission will start the moment I leave the Namikaze compound in four days and will only be that way when I am in the eyes of the public. Any and every threat that comes to my person and by extension the target, be prepared to eradicate and leave no traces. You are all part of the strongest and most intelligent group in ANBU. Do not disappoint me." He said as he stood up and placed his mask on.

"Sir, yes sir." They answered and the captain disappeared from their sight.

**~Behind The Mask~**

The days had come and gone quickly and Naruto was dress in an attire very similar to his ANBU clothing but with sleeves to hide his tattoo and minus his sword, vest, and mask. Tenzo had prepared his morning meal and along with Ibiki, waited for him to come down.

The meal was eaten almost in silence until Ibiki spoke up when he felt young Namikaze's ANBU team outside and around the compound, waiting for them to come out and head to the Academy. The Head of the T&I sighed as he finished his meal just before the young captain.

"I do hope that this won't have to drag on and complications would be bare." Ibiki commented and even Tenzo sighed.

"That is asking for the sun to rise at the same time as the moon right by her side, Ibiki." Naruto said as he finished his meal and placed down his chopsticks.

Tenzo nodded.

"Complications are inevitable. Nonetheless, we do our best to carry out our tasks with minimal injuries and deaths." Naruto added and stood up.

"Only under you can a team walk away from any mission with little to no physically or mental injuries, Naruto." Ibiki said and chuckled.

The young blond turned to him and smirked.

"I do try."

**~Behind The Mask~**

No one had noticed him sitting there. Except one timid little girl: the Hyuuga heiress, Hyuuga Hinata. Naruto didn't make any move to speak to her, he just ignored the whole thing entirely. Two girls had entered the classroom, yelling at each other for something that involved the Uchiha which made some snicker while the Uchiha himself didn't acknowledge nor made any move to stop them.

The noise was something Naruto didn't like and vowed that it would have to stop or he would make it stop.

Permanently.

Luck had to be on the side of the two girls since the classroom door opened and the chuunin instructor, Umino Iruka, entered with a clipboard in his hands. The students rushed to their seats and settled down.

"Alright everyone. Congratulations to all who passed the exams. Today, I will be announcing your team placement and your jounin instructors. You will then wait for them here to pick you up. I'll start with Team 10. Akimichi Chouji, Yamanaka Ino, and Nara Shikamaru, your jounin with be Sarutobi Asuma."

Ino deflated when she found out that she wasn't on the same team as Sasuke. Chouji just nodded and ate his chips while Shikamaru yawned.

"Troublesome."

"Next, Team 8 will be Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino. Your jounin instructor will be Yuhi Kurenai."

Hinata nodded meekly and Shino didn't even move. Kiba on the other cheered loudly along with his nin-dog.

"Woohoo! Here that Akamaru? We get a female jounin!" he snickered and the dog bark and wagged his tail.

"Best not to be to relaxed, Kiba. Yuhi Kurenai is noted to be Konoha's Mistress of Genjutsu. She will probably be stricter than others because of this." Iruka explained and instantly the boy deflated.

"Lastly, Team 7. Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke and—" Iruka instantly stopped when he saw the name.

Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto? The son of the Yondaime and vessel of the Kitsune no Kyuubi? He had heard rumors and nothing more about the boy. He was said to be a genius, intelligent beyond many. He had been home schooled until now and it shocked him when he turned to actually see the said boy on the last table at the top, nearly hidden from the whole class.

The boy… was the exact carbon copy of the Yondaime Iruka remembered when the man was still alive. And his son was here now.

"***** Uzumaki Naruto." He said then his eyes widen.

Was it forbidden to speak of his full name? Must be since he knew he tried to say the whole name but the only thing that came out were Uzumaki Naruto.

"Sensei, there is no Uzumaki Naruto here." Sakura corrected, still smug that she was placed on the same team as her crush while Ino was stuck with the fatty and the lazy one.

"He is here, Sakura. Right there." Iruka said as he slowly pointed to where Naruto was seated, looking down at him with calculative eyes.

The whole class, even Sasuke turned to see the boy in question and everyone gasped.

"_How come I didn't even notice him there?!"_ Sasuke mentally asked himself.

"_Oh my Kami-sama! His hotter that Sasuke-kun!"_ Ino squealed mentally.

Sakura was in shock, Shikamaru stared at the blond with the same calculative eyes as the blond did to Iruka. Chouji had stopped eating, Shino stared as well. Hinata blushed hard and both Kiba and Akamaru jaw dropped. They had not even sensed anyone else in the room.

All the while, Naruto didn't even say anything to anyone and just sat there. When Naruto finally moved and leaned back, crossing his arms and legs, Iruka snapped out of his stupor.

"Anyway, like I said. You all will wait here until you are picked up by your jounins. Congratulations once again." Iruka turned to Naruto, bowed a bit, and got a nod from the boy.

He then sighed and knew that Team 7 would have to wait a while until Hatake Kakashi came for them. The one eyed jounin was notorious for being late. However, when the classroom door opened, Iruka's eyes widen in shock.

"Morning. I'm here to pick up the members of Team 7." Kakashi said as he stood up straight, scanned the room, and saw his sensei's son at the very end.

"Please meet me in the rooftop immediately." Kakashi said and shunshin'd away.

When the Sasuke turned to look at the blond once more, he was shocked as the rest of the class when they all saw that the blond was no longer there. The raven haired boy quickly left the room with Sakura right behind him, leaving the classroom and still shocked chuunin and genins behinds.

When they got to the rooftop, their jounin was leaning on the railing and the blond was sitting on a tree branch. Sasuke was already starting to dislike the blond. He appeared to be more skilled that Sasuke at the moment. It should not be since he needed all the power and strength he could gain to avenge his clan.

"Alright, now that we're all here, why don't we start by introducing ourselves? State your name, age, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dream." Kakashi said with a cheerful tone.

"A-ano… Will you show us how, sensei?" Sakura asked and both the two other boys raised their brows at her.

The instructions were simple, was she that stupid to not understand them?

"Fine. My name is Hatake Kakashi My likes and dislikes are none of your concern. It goes for my hobbies and dreams as well." he said and even smiled.

Naruto knew this already yet both the other two had not been able to mask their reactions well.

"Your turn Pinky."

"Oh… Well, my name is Haruno Sakura and I'm twelve. My likes are…" she glanced at Sasuke and giggled which made both Naruto and Kakashi raise a brow once more.

"My hobbies are…" she glanced at the Uchiha and giggled again.

"My dreams are…" another giggle.

"And I dislike Ino-pig." She said with conviction.

Kakashi looked up at Naruto who sat straighter.

"Do you really wish to be a kunoichi? It seems that the only reason you're here is because the Uchiha is here as well. If that is all, I suggest you quit now before we move forward. You will not only be a burden but mostly likely a liability as well." Naruto said coldly and got a sharp nod of acknowledgement from both Sasuke and Kakashi.

"And who the hell do you think you are?!" she yelled as she stood up and looked at him angrily.

Without even saying anything, Naruto released some of his killing intent towards her and she froze.

"I can kill you from where I am without even trying." He told her and even Sasuke was shocked.

A few moments later, he retracted his KI and all watched as Sakura tried to catch her breath.

"Your turn, broody." Kakashi said as he navigated the conversation forward.

"Uchiha Sasuke, twelve. I don't have any likes and my dislikes are too many to mention. My hobbies are to train in order to reach my dream… no, my goal. To revive my clan and kill a certain person." He answered.

"_You won't even be able to land a hit on Weasel, brat."_ Naruto thought as he mentally snorted.

"And lastly." Kakashi said as he and the other two turned to look up at Naruto.

"Uzumaki Naruto, eleven, nearly twelve. I like less and dislike many. Hobbies are my own and my dreams are irrelevant to you." He answered and got a nod from Kakashi.

The man expected this already as he was sure that Naruto expected his answer as well.

Before anyone could say anything, Ibiki appeared next to Kakashi which made Sakura scream in fright. It just constituted Naruto's claims that Haruno Sakura would indeed be both a burden and a liability to the team if she didn't shape up soon.

"Sorry to interrupt but I need to borrow Naruto-kun, Kakashi. The Hokage wants to speak with him immediately. He also wants to meet you after this as well." Ibiki said as he then turned to Naruto who had already vanished after Ibiki said that the Hokage wanted to speak with him.

Sasuke and Sakura stared at the now empty branch where their blind teammate had been occupying not too long ago. Kakashi then sighed.

"Alright. Meet me in training ground seven tomorrow at seven am. Do not eat. Dismissed." He told the other two as he then nodded to Ibiki before both jumping down the rooftop and running across rooftops towards the Hokage tower.

Both Sasuke and Sakura were left to stare at the retreating jounins before leaving the rooftops themselves. Well Sasuke leaving and the pink haired girl just chased after him.

**~Behind The Mask~**

When Kakashi had reach the Hokage's office, Naruto was sitting on the couch, looking relaxed while the Hokage seemed to have been waiting for him. Ibiki returned to his office to finish a few paper work before heading home. Tenzo was assigned to take Naruto back to the compound so he didn't have to return to the Hokage's office again.

"Kakashi, good. You're here. Tell me, how was the meeting with your team." The Hokage happily inquired.

Kakashi turned to look at Naruto for a moment before sighing and turning back to the Hokage and answered.

"It was… heated. The lone Uchiha was written as cold, uncaring, and aloof. His goal apparently is to avenge his clan and kill Uchiha Itachi." He said and heard Naruto snort.

"The day the snot nosed spoiled brat kills Itachi will be the same day the seas disappear, Hell turns into ice, and the Heavens covered in fire." He commented which made the Hokage laughed.

"And the Haruno girl? What do you think of her, Naruto-kun?" Sarutobi asked.

"She is a liability. Will be nothing but a burden to the team and definitely be the reason why missions taken will be compromised and fail." He answered which made Kakashi sigh.

"It seems that she is… a fangirl of the last Uchiha. Despite how Naruto had spoken of her and how he had dealt with her earlier, I have to agree. Her file said that she was the smartest of her batch yet it seems that the term only ends in her ability to retain information that she has read in books. She doesn't show any skills nor does she seem likely to be initiative if given the chance to do so." Kakashi told the Hokage who nodded seriously.

"Be that as it may, this will be the team placement and both of you will have to work around this in order to overcome hurdles in the near future." The old man commanded and Kakashi nodded while Naruto huffed.

"Oh, by the way, meet us at training ground seven tomorrow at seven am for survival training." Kakashi said as he turned to Naruto who raised a brow and looked at him.

"Seven on the dot, Hatake-san." Naruto said and stood up before bowing to the Hokage and leaving the office.

**~Behind The Mask~**

Later that evening, Iruka was with the other jounins at a local bar that older chuunins and jounins stayed at and have a few drinks.

"I'm telling you, Kakashi must have a fever or a horrible and deadly disease! He was actually early for once!" Iruka said as he slumped down next to Ebisu who was in shocked when he had heard.

"Tell us what happened, Iruka." Genma, a senbon on his lips as if it were a toothpick.

"Well, I came to the classroom where the graduates were waiting. I announced who was on who's team and their respective jounins. Then just as I finished and turned to leave, that man stepped into the classroom, greeted me, scanned the room for his team, told them to meet him at the rooftop, then vanished." Iruka narrated and got nods from Gai, Kurenai, and Asuma.

"Well, it's not really a shock. He found out that one of his members was the son of his sensei. Of course he'd be early." Kurenai told the other present and all heads except Gai and Asuma were on her.

"What do you mean son of his former sensei?" Mizuki asked.

"Well, four days ago, we were summoned to the Hokage's office and given folders of the members of the students who we would be taking as students. Before we could even open our files to see who we got, the door opens and a miniature carbon copy of the Yondaime came in. I swear my cigarette even fell when I saw him. It was creepy beyond measure! He was exactly like Yondaime Namikaze Minato… only smaller." Asuma explained and the rest were stunned.

"I only heard rumors about the boy. I didn't know he actually existed." Iruka said as he pouted a bit.

"Oh he exists alright. Aside from the time he had gone to the Hokage tower four days ago, today would have been the second time he had left the Namikaze compound his whole life. He just never left that compound." Kurenai added and got more stares.

"His flames of youth are of blue and its chilling to the bones." Gai placed his two cents seriously which made everyone shiver. For the Green Beat of Konoha to be serious made the rest wonder just what kind of boy the Yondaime's son was.

Just then, Kakashi came into the bar and all eyes were on him which made his raise a brow. Then he saw Iruka with Gai, Kurenai, Asuma, and Ebisu and knew well that he'd be interrogated the moment he sat down.

"Alright Kakashi, spill. How'd the first team meeting go." Kurenai started even _before_ the jounin sat down.

Everyone present was waiting for the answer. It was just then that the jounins and chuunins noticed a few clan heads present and seem to want to know as well.

"The first meeting could have gotten better if not for a certain loud mouth female. Her introduction alone made Naruto speak up. We were told that he was straight forward and voiced his opinions remember?" the other three nodded.

"Well, it seemed that Naruto was far more straight forward than we were led to believe. He was blunt and told the Haruno square out that she would only be a burden and a liability to the team. From what I read of her and her introduction earlier, I can definitely say that Haruno Sakura is a fangirl of the Uchiha. And even Sasuke agreed with Naruto's opinion of her." Kakashi said.

"What happened after? Knowing Sakura, she would have yelled back." Iruka said and got a nod from Mizuki.

"Oh she did yell. She turned to Naruto who without breaking a sweat and not even trying, sent a small amount of KI to her and she froze. He even told her that he could have killed her where he was sitting without having to try at all. He was sitting on a tree branch while Sakura was on the ground, a few two to three feet away from Naruto. When I felt his KI, even I froze for a bit. He has perfect control of his skills, no doubt from the home schooling he had received his whole life."

It was just then that the Hyuuga clan head along with the Akimichi, Yamanaka, Nara, Aburame, and Inuzuka clan heads finally approached the jounins.

"So it's true then. The Yondaime's son has finally come out." Hyuuga Hiashi spoke for the whole group.

"He did. And I'm sure that Iruka has spoken that the young Naruto is the exact copy of his father." Kakashi replied and got nods from everyone in the room.

It was alright to be talking about it since everyone inside knew about the whole thing. Even the bartender who was the owner of the bar knew as well and had helped kept the whole thing a secret.

"If it weren't for the fact that its tradition to have a Cho-Ino-Shika team, I would have asked the Hokage to have the boy in the same team as Shikamaru." Shikaku muttered and got nods from the rest of the clan heads.

Just then, the door opened once more and Ibiki came in.

"Yo." He greeted.

"You're here… Aren't you supposed to escort Naruto home?" Kakashi asked and Ibiki shook his head.

"It's Tenzo's assignment for the day. Anko has it tomorrow and I the day after." He explained as he sat across Kakashi and beside Asuma.

"Ibiki, what do you know about Naruto?" Mizuki asked and everyone held their breaths while Ibiki sighed.

"Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto is a genius. He is cunning, observant, calculative, and patient. His patience is greater than the Yondaime's as far as the Hokage mentioned. The boy is also very articulate. He can insult you and you won't even know it. He had done it to Anko a few times and it took her about a week to understand what he had told her. He is a bit cynical but for good reason. It takes more than just a few words from the Hokage for him to trust someone. I should know. It took about half a year before he was able to relax whenever I was there for lessons. He has this quiescent air around him that makes others forget he is there which he uses to the extreme." Iruka nodded.

"I saw that today. None of the class knew he was even there until I pointed him out. Truth be told, I didn't even notice him myself until I read his name and looked around the room. I think he made himself known to me for the sake of correcting Sakura's claim that there was no boy named Naruto with them." Iruka told the rest.

The whole place was dead quiet for a long while until the doors opened and Anko came in.

"Hey Ibiki! How was Naru-chan's first day? I couldn't get free to go and see for myself!" she wailed as she moved across the room and sat next to the T&I interrogator.

"We were just talking about him, Anko. It seems that he already made struck Haruno without trying." Ibiki said and smirked and Konoha's bloodthirsty kunoichi laughed.

"Well, it should have been expected. From the file he was given about his team, Haruno's a fangirl. You know well he doesn't like noise." She told Ibiki and pouted at the memory of Naruto thrashing her during a sparring session for yelling inside the compound.

"Oh I remember that day well. It was that time you yelled and he had thrashed you so bad that you were out for three days. You did deserve it for yelling. Like you said, he doesn't like loud noises." Ibiki reminded her, not missing the shocked looks from the others who were listening to them.

"Kakashi, we wish you luck on your team. Naru-chan will whip you and those two others if he deems you incompetent to train Uchiha and Haruno. Hell, Naru-chan would probably be harder on the girl since there is no way to change members even if he wanted to." Anko told Kakashi with a very amused look on her face.

Just then, two ANBU's appeared behind Anko and Ibiki, making everyone snap and look at the masked ninjas in their presence.

All the chuunins and jounins knew about squad zero and its members. They were the best of the best. ANBU Captain Yeou had, time and time again, finished missions in record breaking time and with minimal to zero injuries on his person and team.

"Mitarashi Anko. Morino Ibiki. You both are summoned to Captain Yeou's office immediately." Spoke the ninja with a wolf mask on his face.

"What would he want with us?" Ibiki asked, wondering why Naruto was summoning them to his _ANBU_ office of all places.

"The reason was not stated. Only for you both to be there immediately." A feminine voice came from the Sparrow masked ninja and both then disappeared as soon as the message was delivered and received.

Both sighed and stood up.

"And oh, by the way Kakashi, don't make Naru-chan angry. You won't like it when his angry." Ibiki warned the jounin before he and Anko left the bar without having been able to even drink at least one glass of anything.

As they left the bar, they also left stunned ninjas looking at the closing door before turning to the one eyed jounin who was now sensei to a boy who could probably very well defeat him if needed be.

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**A/N: That's all for now! How was it? Do you like it? Read and review then please. ^_^**

**1) Mizuki is NOT a traitor in this story. He is just another Academy instructor like Iruka. Deal with it.**

**2) The reference is the Hulk I think. "You won't like it when I'm angry." Modified for my use of course.**


	3. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO NO MATTER HOW MUCH I WANT TOO!**

**Visit my profile for important poll! Vote wisely!**

**Edited**

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**2. The Bell Test and A Few Secrets Unleashed**

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As the first rays of the sun crept over the horizon, Naruto was already up, showered, changed, and was half way through his meal with Tenzo.

Yesterday, he had spoken to Anko and Ibiki that the Hokage needed their full attention for the next few months since the Chuunin Exams were being held in Konoha this year. Ibiki would be the protector for he first exam while Anko was for the second. The third was still being discussed and security measures were already being prepared by his team along with Nara Shikaku, Konoha's official defense strategist.

"Tenzo, for the rest of the day, stay with the Hokage. He needs all the help he can get with the pressure pushed on to him by the rest of the Kage's from the different countries." Naruto commanded and Tenzo nodded.

"Though I should ask, when will you tell him the secret to those paperwork?" Tenzo asked and Naruto smirked.

"In time."

**~Behind The Mask~**

Naruto arrived a minute before seven and saw that both the other two were already there. When seven came, the silver haired jounin arrived as well. He had two bells, an alarm clock, and two obentos with him.

"Kakashi-sensei, what kind of survival training are we going to be doing?" Sakura asked.

Naruto was leaning on a tree while Sasuke on leaning on another and Sakura was in between them.

"This survival training is a test you must pass in order to be certified genins. The Academy only weeds out those who have the _potential_ to be genins. It's seven o'clock at the moment. You have until noon to capture this two bells with me. If you fail, you will be sent back to the Academy and wait for six months till you are placed with a new team once more." He said as he tied two silver bells to his hip and turned to them.

"Timer starts… now." He said and vanished.

Naruto had already figured out the meaning of the test but just vanished and was laying down on a tree branch covered from the ground and closed his eyes. He didn't even bother to look when Kakashi came and was sitting on a branch above him.

"Are you just going to lie down and sleep?" he asked.

"I have time. It's obvious that Uchiha would not want help until the last minute and Haruno would do the same because her idol did it. Why waste time talking to them when you and I both know that it would be fruitless. I'd rather rest and they will come to me themselves later. You said noon. That's five hours from now. _I have time_. Now, go and play with the other two. I suggest you try a simple genjutsu on the girl. If she falls for it, she'll prove once more how useless and a liability she is." Naruto suggested with a commanding tone that Kakashi noticed he was trying to suppress.

With a nod, the jounin left Naruto to his peace.

"Sir, are you sure that it would be best to let the other two waste time?" Crane asked as she appeared on the branch Kakashi had been occupying not a few moments earlier.

"It's fine, Crane. It won't matter if they both waste time or not. Both will be learning their mistakes later on anyway." He told her and she nodded and went to hide once more.

**~Behind The Mask~**

As suggested, Kakashi tested Sakura first with an extremely mild genjutsu. To say the least, she fell for it and fainted. Kakashi was beginning to wonder how the girl had been said to be the smartest of the recent graduating batch.

His next target was Sasuke who actually tried to fight back and even used a fire jutsu on him. But Kakashi saw through it and defeated the boy easily. Sasuke had quickly switched to taijutsu but still got beaten down. Kakashi then vanished once more, leaving a very pissed Uchiha behind.

Two hours had passed and Kakashi was now in the center of the clearing with Naruto in front of him.

"Are you going to try and take a bell?" Kakashi asked.

"Are you insinuating that I did not ascertain the true purpose of this exercise?" Naruto asked back.

"I should have known. So this would simply be a spar then?"

"Of course. Prepare yourself, Hatake-san." Naruto warned and flickered the next moment before appearing in front of Kakashi who managed to dodge the punch just a millisecond before it could make contact with his face.

Naruto sent punches and kicks in rapid flow while Kakashi struggled to dodge every blow given by the blond. It was also not missed that the Uchiha and Haruno were watching them with wide eye shock from their hiding places.

With a slightly chakra infused punch, Naruto sent Kakashi back, clutching the part of his stomach that received the blow.

"No need for you to hold back, Hatake-san. I would be very displeased and feel insulted if you do so." Naruto said as he stood up straight and flickered once more before attacking Kakashi with more energy than earlier.

Kakashi unconsciously did as he was told. He foregone holding back and defended himself as best as he could. Naruto even paused to give him a second to collect himself, sending the hidden message to attack him to see what he could do. He was not as adept to taijutsu as Gai but Kakashi knew how to attack and defend himself well enough.

As he attacked, Kakashi did not miss the way his punches and kicks were avoided with grace and a small amount of mockery. For Kakashi, being bested by a soon to be twelve year old did not suit well to his pride as jounin and former ANBU. If he only knew who his opponent was, his feelings would probably have been far more worse. For him, an older man to have served under a Commander about a decade younger than himself would certainly burst his pride.

From the shadows, the seven members of squad zero watched as their captain and ANBU Commander spar with the famed Sharingan Kakashi and silently mocked for not having an idea that the older man's chances of even landing a hit was none existent. Really, there was no way Kakashi would win against their leader.

And again, even if Kakashi was on the attack a split second, the older one was sent flying back had slammed against a tree from one punch.

Before Kakashi could even stand up, the Uchiha jumped out and started to throw punches and kicks at Naruto. This not only amused the ANBU's alone but also their captain who danced his way through the whole thing.

"Fight me you coward!" Sasuke yelled and as quick as his words left his lips, Naruto was able to flicker and appear behind the raven haired boy, hit the back of his neck, and the Uchiha fell unconscious.

"Sasuke-kun! How dare you hurt him!" Sakura came and ran towards Naruto with a punch but was slapped and she fell on ground.

"You think you can beat me? The Uchiha is simply weak. But that can be changed. You however… you are useless. You'll be the very reason why we'd probably die during a C-rank mission." Naruto said as he sneered and turned his back and moved towards Kakashi who was now on his feet.

Sakura stood up and ran but was punched forcefully back, just like what happened to Kakashi. As she groaned, clutching her stomach that was in great pain, Naruto was in front of her and he had held her neck in one hand, squeezing it a bit too tight. She tried to struggle but it was futile.

"Do that again and I will kill you, you _yaku ni tata ni onna (useless girl)_." He hissed.

Suddenly a sharp whistle came from somewhere and he released her.

"Like I said, while Uchiha is simply weak, your useless." He repeated and vanished once more.

Sakura was now crying from the words Naruto had told her and the pain in her stomach from the punch he gave. He didn't even hold back at all. Was that how ninjas really were? No hesitations? No holding back?

Ten minutes later, Sasuke woke up and was aching all over. He could believe that he was easily defeated by the blond and even their jounin was pushed back. He wanted to know how the blond was so strong! He needed to be strong to kill Itachi! He needed the power to revive his clan as well! How the hell was he going to do it when he couldn't even defeat a boy who was a few months younger than him?

Two hours had passed and both Sasuke and Sakura were now dreading. They only had an hour left to get the bells or they would fail. Sasuke didn't like the idea of failing and Sakura didn't like to think what Ino would say when news got out that she didn't make genin because she was weak and a liability to her team.

Sasuke turned to Sakura for a second before alarms sounded in his head. How could he have not seen it? Sasuke felt frustrated and sighed heavily.

"We should find him and get him to help us. This was a test to see how well we work _together_." Sasuke pointed out and Sakura slowly realized it as well.

"You're dubbed as the smart one but you didn't see this at all? I'm starting to think that Uzumaki was right about you being a burden and a liability, Haruno." He told her coldly and tears formed at the edge of her eyes.

He stood up and began to walk with the girl behind him. If he wanted to pass, he'd have to swallow his pride just this once. Twenty minutes later, they found the blond sleeping under a tree. Or they thought he was sleeping until he spoke.

"So you finally realized the meaning behind the test I take it?" Naruto asked them without even opening his eyes.

Sasuke bit his tongue to not sneer or say something that could ruin the chances of them gaining the blond's help. The said blond then sat up and turned to them with a bored look on his face.

"Alright then… In order to get those damn bells, we have to work together as you both have _finally _realized. And in order to do that, we need to distract him as much as we can. Will you listen to my plan now?" the other two nodded.

"Good. Here it is. We lure him to an enclosed area. Haruno will be hiding from view until a perfect opportunity comes for you to grab the bells from him. You Uchiha will be distracting him along with me. I'll use taijutsu while you use that fire jutsu of yours. I attack in front while you attack him from behind. Then Haruno, you come out and grab the bells. This plan will work only _once_ so you better make good use of it. I do not fancy having to think of another way to go about this exercise." He told them and got nods once more.

**~Behind The Mask~**

Just like Naruto said, his plan was half way being accomplished. The blond was attacking the silver haired jounin and pushed him into the forest. Then when he was sure that the man was far from the exit points of the forest, Sasuke joined in the distraction plan, and both boys led their struggling sensei to the area where Sakura was waiting. And when Kakashi paused just beside her hiding place, the girl jumped out and grabbed the bells from his hips and rolled to where the boys were standing and smirking at their gaping sensei.

"So? Do we pass?" Naruto asked and Sakura wiggled the bells to make them sound.

Kakashi chuckled and nodded.

"Yes, you definitely passed." He answered and Sakura cheered while the boys smirking smirked.

**~Behind The Mask~**

Later that day, just after lunch, Kakashi was back in the Hokage's office along with Gai, Kurenai, and Asuma. They all reported that they passed their teams and explained what tests they did. When it was Kakashi's turn, the other three jounins turned serious and listened well.

"As you already know, I gave them the bell test to see if they could work together as a team. At seven sharp, the test began like usual. However, Naruto was lying down on a tree branch that was well covered from the ground. I asked him if he would be doing so the whole morning. He then proceeded to tell me that it would be futile for him to even _try_ and talk to the other two. Of course he was right about this. Uchiha would have not asked for help until the last minute and Haruno would copy whatever the Uchiha did. Naruto then suggested that I test the other two instead. Since he was not going to do anything, I left him and went to test the girl first." Kakashi shook his head at the memory.

"Haruno fell for the mild genjutsu and fainted. Her obsession with the Uchiha is frightening. Then the broody one thought of charging at me. He was even able to use a fire jutsu. I'm not surprised since the Uchiha clan had fire affinities. But because of his arrogance, his defeat was certain. Two hours later, Naruto finally moved and met me in a clearing and we sparred." Kakashi paused, clutching his stomach a bit.

"That kid is one strong opponent. He was very skilled. He knew where to hit and how much power he needed to use. He was fast and the only thing I saw before being hit was a flicker. He punched me and I flew back and slammed against a tree. It was then that the Uchiha came and attacked him but was obviously defeated. Haruno yelled and charged at Naruto for beating the Uchiha and he slapped her aside. He called her useless and she attacked when he had turned his back on her. But—" he stopped and frowned a bit.

"But what?" Asuma asked.

"But when Haruno charged again, this time, Naruto sent her flying back like how he did to me. I'm not sure if he held back but I'm sure he did or she would not have stayed conscious. Then he warned her never to attack him when he had his back on her or he'd kill her. He was choking Haruno from what I could tell but stopped when a sharp and long whistle came from somewhere in the forest." Kakashi was in deep thought.

"Something wrong Kakashi?" the Hokage asked.

Kakashi thought for a few minutes then nodded.

"Hokage-sama… Naruto… the way he moved… the way he spoke… It was a bit familiar somehow. I could say it was like the Yondaime but that's not it. There was something else there. When we were sparring, he told he to not hold back and I obeyed. Now that I think about it, when he _suggested_ I go test the other two, it was more of a command than a suggestion." He said, hiding the question '_Just who is he?'_

The Hokage sighed and nodded.

"Naruto-kun had always… always had the ability to command anyone without trying. He could even do it to Ibiki, Anko, and Tenzo and they don't mind. In the long run Kakashi, you will find out a few things about Naruto that will make you understand just who and what kind of person he is. And when you do, all possible questions will be answered." Sarutobi told him and the rest by extension.

Just then, four ANBU ninjas appeared be the window and the young ANBU Captain, Yeou, was standing near the Hokage's side.

It was that very moment Kakashi remembered the Hokage telling him that his former ANBU Commander and the captain of squad zero was only twelve, Kakashi slumped down on his seat. He was already struggling with Naruto, knowing his former Commander had been younger than him had deflated his pride and ego immensely.

"Hokage-sama, Owl and Snake have returned from their mission and made a written report ranked S yet Hokage's Eyes Only." Yeou said as he presented the black scroll to the now frowning Hokage.

Swiftly, he opened the scroll with a special seal only known to Kages and read the scroll immediately. After a few moments, he slammed his hands and the scroll on the table.

"Eliminate them immediately! Leave no trace and bring Danzo in for questioning. I'm sure Ibiki, Anko, and even Naruto would want to question him. You have twenty-four hours to complete this S-rank mission." He commanded and Yeou knelt and nodded.

"Yes, sir." He then disappeared first then the other ANBU's as well.

"Ho—Dad, why did you mention Naruto wanting to question Danzo?" Asuma asked, stopping himself from asking who he wanted to vanished without a trace angrily.

"It seems that Danzo had not done as he was told. He had not totally disbanded ROOT and not only that… he had planned for one of his ninjas to infiltrate Konoha's genin ranks." He answered and heard gasps.

"Naruto will surely be far worse that both Ibiki and Anko combined. He alone could make the bestest secret keeper spill the deepest, darkest secrets they knew about anyone and everyone. In reality? Naruto makes Ibiki and Anko look like saints when it came to interrogation. And he doesn't show mercy in the end." Sarutobi added with a very grave tone that made the four jounins shiver in fright.

Just want in the world was Naruto?

* * *

**A/N: That's all for now! How was it? A bit short I know. But still… Did you like it? Read and review then please. ^_^**

**~Behind The Mask~**


	4. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO NO MATTER HOW MUCH I WANT TOO!**

**Please visit my profile for an important poll. The future of Naruto is 75% in your hands so vote wisely!**

* * *

**3. Trust, D-Ranks and Wave I**

* * *

It had been two weeks since the members of squad zero found out just who their Captain and ANBU Commander was. And it had been a week since they had slaughtered ROOT and brought Danzo to Morino Ibiki and Mitarashi Anko. When their Captain had his turn with Danzo, the crippled man had poured out all the secrets he knew about everyone in the civilian council and the things that they had been doing. It had made them shiver to know that even as Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, their Captain had not softened his ways in dealing with traitors and enemies.

It had shocked them to be honest, to know that the being behind the mask of a fox, their own Captain was the vessel of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox. But then their respect for the young man had grown immensely. They all remembered how their Captain kept them all alive and nearly zero injury when on missions. They're captain had never showed any signs of leaving them behind and Crane surely blushed behind her mask when her Captain carried her back to Konoha after nearly depleting her chakra reserves to help her team mission an S-rank mission once.

They all gathered at the small resting room their captain had provided for them when they weren't on missions. The silence had been deafening until Owl brought it when he spoke.

"I know what most of you have been thinking. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't thinking it. The captain… Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto had been a shocking revelation for all of us. But I think… he trusted us so much that he revealed himself knowing that he might risk more than just his mission." Owl told them.

"What do you mean Owl?" Crane asked.

"I agree with Owl. The Captain showed us his face behind the mask without even hesitating or thinking that we who are his subordinates might be from clans that disliked him because of what he is." Sparrow explained and Wolf nodded. Both then took off their masks and the others gasped. Behind the wolf and sparrow masks were Hyuuga Hoheto and Hyuuga Tokumi.

Snake then chuckled as he took of his mask, revealing Yamanaka Santa behind it.

"Uncle?!" Cat gasped as she then took of her mask, revealing Yamanaka Fu.

This made Santa laugh harder.

"This is surprising. I'm actually on the same squad as my niece. I remember the taijutsu spar I had with you and you even beat me." Santa teased and Fu blushed hard.

Hawk then took of his mask and behind it was Aburame Torune.

"I can't believe that I'm on the same team as my best friend. We're close Fu but this is just funny." Torune said laughed a bit before Fu slapped his shoulder.

"Shut it, Tor." She said and pouted.

"Well, I think I can say that I'm the second youngest then." Crane said as she took off her mask, revealing a smiling Inuzuka Hana to the rest of the group.

They all looked at each other and laughed.

"No wonder Owl is so damn wise. He's the eldest. Snake comes next, followed by Wolf, then Sparrow, me, Fu, and Crane is the last." Torune shared as he grinned and getting hit on the head by Ensui in the process.

"Mind your elders, Torune. I'm not that old. This bags are just stress. You have no idea how brutal the Captain had been to Snake and I when he came around. I swear I had trouble sleeping for three weeks after the month in the Forest of Death training." Ensui said as he shuddered a bit who turned to Santa who had paled at the memory.

"What happened?" Tokumi asked.

"Two years ago, before the rest of you came, it was just the Captain, Snake and I. He wanted to test how we adapt when pushed to dangerous and unpredictable environments. He made Snake and I live in the Forest of Death for a month. We had to fight for our lives, day in and day out. We never stayed in one place for more than three days. The water supply was the hardest for us to keep. Meat was easy since we were allowed to kill the animals to use as food. But the worse thing during that whole month was fighting even in the dead of night." Ensui shared as Santa tried his best not to listen and relive the whole nightmare.

"I remember the first night we stayed there… We both woke up with four bears sniffing us to see if we were alive or not. If we didn't know shunshin, I highly doubt we'd survive that night. Killing the bears had been easy enough but we never got to sleep after that. We took turns. One would sleep while the other stays awake to watch. I always took the night shift and Santa would sleep at night. During the day, I'd sleep and Santa would be on guard as well as hunt. There were days that we both didn't sleep. Foxes, wolves, and bears kept coming like they were being led to wherever we were. The Captain swore he never interfered and to reassure us, he even let Santa in his mind briefly to show what he had been doing the whole month. He was just there… Watching us. We didn't even know he was doing so." Santa spoke next. They're captain had told him that it was better to speak about it so that the mind would be able to release the stress and he'd rest easier. It worked back then, it certainly worked now.

The younger ones looked at one another before nodding.

"Well, I think a month in that forest was better than a week long stay at Kirigakure's borders." Torune voiced and got nods from Fu, Hoheto, Hana, and Tokumi.

"What? When did that happened?" Ensui questioned while Santa's eyes widen.

"It was the one week the Captain took all five of us as initiation to his squad. He didn't give us the same thing as he you both but I think fighting and killing brainless animals was better than Kiri ninjas who were chuunin and jounin levels." Fu stated and began the tale.

"The captain had asked the Hokage to allow him to take us out for the test. We were told that Hokage-sama had agreed with the Captain's choice and reasoned that if Captain made us stay in the Forest of Death for a month, Mitarashi Anko-san would have killed all five of us for clearing the whole forest. She was already peeved after the two of you had left. The captain brought us to the border line leading to Kiri and instructed that we were to spend the whole week here and if we survived, he'd take us in into his squad. We had heard from many lower ANBU that squad zero was the toughest, most successful, and feared of all the divisions." Fu turned to Hoheto who nodded.

"With the want to prove to the Captain that he didn't make a mistake of choosing us, we did our hardest to remain alive. But to fight against skilled ninjas, some even having Kekkei Genkai's was no walk in the park. Hawk and I would stay up at night while Cat, Crane, and Sparrow slept at night. Then during the day, Hawk and I slept while Sparrow watched us and both Cat and Crane would hunt for water and food. The week seemed to never end as enemy nins kept coming and coming." Hoheto shivered a bit but Tokumi placed a hand on his shoulder.

"When the week was over, we were covered in dry blood that it took about five showers to get rid of the stains and the smell. For me that is. The first night back, I had a hard time sleeping on my futon. One small noise and I'd be up in the dead of night since I knew that I was alone. It took about two weeks for my body and mind to understand that the Hell on Earth Week was over." Tokumi imparted how it was for her.

Then the whole room went into silence once more. Well, until Hana broke it this time.

"So, aside from revealing who we all are, what did you want to speak to us about, Ensui-san?" she asked politely.

Ensui then took a deep breath and looked at his teammates.

"I know that it would be a big thing to ask from all of you but since the captain was able to do it, I think that we all should show the same trust and reassure our captain that even if we know who he really is, nothing would change and he is still our captain and respect him still. Well, my respect for him just went off the roof when my mind realized that MY squad captain was ten years old when he asked hand picked Santa and I to be part of his team. And since then, he had been the greatest captain I had ever had. He has never failed a mission before and always made sure that all of us were safe and injure free." He expressed and the rest nodded.

"I even remember one mission that Captain carried Crane on his own after she had been too weak to even move. Owl had helped me while Hawk carried Cat and Wolf carried Sparrow." Santa reminded them and Hana instantly blushed deep red.

The rest chuckled as the girl tried to kill the damn blush before smiling a bit.

"We should let the captain know… that nothing has change and that we'd follow him to nine pits of Hell and back again if needed be." She pronounced and the rest agreed.

"I don't know what we did in our past life to have a great captain like him but I'm not complaining." Fu added and giggled along with Tokumi who nodded too.

Then they all nodded once more and stood up to head over to the next room to where their Captain was doing work.

**~Behind The Mask~**

Naruto had finished what little report he needed done. Most of them were already done using his clones. He had to smirk at the thought of the Hokage going into shock when he tells the old man how to get rid of those cursed papers on his table. He was then brought out of his musing when a soft knock on his door was heard.

"It's open." He called out and the door opened, giving way for his members to enter and Snake closing the door.

All seven stood straight in front of him and he leaned back on his seat.

"And what brings all seven of you here? I did say that today was a day to rest up, did I not?" he reminded them softly and got nods.

"Captain, we have a request to make." Owl spoke seriously and Naruto took a deep breath.

"And that is?"

"Will you please close your eyes captain?" Snaked asked which made Naruto tilt his head to one side.

He didn't know what his team was up too but he trusted them. He took off his mask and closed his eyes as requested. It made the other seven so proud that their captain didn't even hesitate when they asked something so strange of him. The level of trust made them feel so blessed to be under the young captain.

Then all took off their masks and angled them on the side of their heads for their captain to know just who they were.

"You can open your eyes now, Captain." Torune said and when Naruto did so, his eyes widen in surprise, nearly going to shock.

Stood in front of him were his _unmasked_ team. He saw two Hyuuga's, two Yamanaka's, a Nara, an Inuzuka, and an Aburame.

"May I inquire as to what brought this on? I am a bit lost." He said honestly and his team chuckled.

"Captain, the amount of trust you gave us… we can never really give back since we know your level is above us. But with this… a small honesty of who we really are, we hope that you would be reassured that even if we know who you are behind the mask of ANBU Captain and Commander Yeou, we still are your members of squad zero." Hoheto informed the young captain who listened well.

"To the nine pits of Hell and back again if needed be, Captain." Hana said and giggled.

Naruto snapped out of his shock and chuckled.

"You didn't have to do this… but I had never doubted any of you. I knew that my team knowing who I am would have been a do or die situation but I did it because I know each and everyone of you and trusted you with my life. You have protected me as I had protected you during near death missions and we still return from them. I am proud with each and everyone of you that you all have trusted me with your lives despite knowing from the beginning that I was younger than all of you." Naruto finally verbalized how he felt for his team and all seven swore that their hearts melted right then and there.

"You are my team and I am proud and forever will be proud to have worked with such amazing and dedicated ninjas of Konoha." Naruto added before he stood up and bowed at them respectfully.

His team was in shock but then smiled and bowed back.

Yup, they would follow their Captain for the rest of their lives with no regret.

**~Behind The Mask~**

As Ensui entered the Nara compound, he couldn't help but smile to himself. His _Captain_ had verbally said that he was proud of them and that he would protect them as they protect him. His Captain even _bowed_. Ensui felt pleased with his decision to have remained in ANBU and under the command of Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, Captain and Commander Yeou to ANBU Corps. He'd never regret giving the Head of Clan role to his brother. Fighting along side his captain was worth it.

As he heard noises from the dojo, he shunshin'd towards the area and saw his younger brother and nephew sparring. Time had gone by so fast that before it was Shikaku and himself with their father. Now it was his brother and his _son._

"Remember Shikamaru, in battle the one who walks away alive is the one who can keep their head on their shoulders and not lose focus." Shikaku told his son who nodded.

Both then sat down and mediated.

Ensui smiled at the two and wondered if he'd have been Shikaku if he had stopped being in ANBU.

But Ensui then realized.

He could never see himself leaving ANBU and his Captain. Along with his teammates, they were the most mismatched yet most perfect group in ANBU. They all had their line of expertise and all brought together under the rule of a fair, just, and amazing captain.

"Father… I want to ask you something… What do you know of an Uzumaki Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.

Ensui stiffened from where he was and he saw his brother froze as well before sighing.

"To be honest? Little to nothing. I have only heard rumors of how great he is. Uzumaki Naruto, according to Morino Ibiki and Mitarashi Anko, is intelligent beyond the norm. He is strong, collected, and patient. Aside from the fact that he is a genius, rumors about him being able to best even Hatake Kakashi himself are everywhere. Kakashi had told us about the little things he noticed during Team 7's first meeting. He had perfect control of his KI and could insult anyone without them even knowing it." Shikaku told Shikamaru who listened well before frowning at the fact that if a boy like Uzumaki Naruto existed, why was he kept hidden?

The silence had gone far too long and Ensui appeared without notice beside his thoughtful brother.

"You know, if you keep that look for another ten minutes, you might remain that way forever and Yoshino would leave you for good." He joked as his nephew was stunned first to have seen his uncle appear out of nowhere and laugh at what the man said to his father.

Shikaku fell to the other side in surprise then he growled.

"I do not want to hear that from you, Ensui! You who don't even crack a smile!" Shikaku pointed out.

"And Yoshino wouldn't leave because I'll forever have a frown on my face."

Ensui smirked.

"Really? Want to bet on it, little brother?" Ensui dared as he them jumped back when his brother tried to grab him.

Ensui laughed as Shikaku fell forward.

This display made Shikamaru actually laugh. He had never seen his father act this way before. And he barely saw his uncle since he joined the ANBU Corps. Nara Ensui never told him in detail but for the last three years, since the Corps had a new Commander, ANBU had gotten better. The Squad Zero was famous for being the best group. Seven mask ninjas under the command of a brilliant Commander made Shikamaru mentally work hard to be just like his uncle.

"Your home. Its rare." Shikamaru finally spoke and smiled.

Ensui nodded and sat next to his nephew and across his brother.

"Well the Commander let us all go home to rest. He said that we don't spend enough time at home. And most of the paper work were already finished so we got a break." He answered his nephew.

"Ne, uncle… Tell me again about you Commander." The young one asked and Ensui chuckled.

"Well… the Commander is the most amazing ninja I have ever met. From the moment he came to ANBU and made the changes, I have never even thought about leaving. He is the type of person that would protect you even with his own life. He'd risk a mission to fail if it meant that everyone returned home alive. But from what I know, he has never failed and never has he left any of his members. He is also the Captain of Squad Zero and that team is the best of the best. Seven members with expertise of their own, brought together by one being who excels them yet is humble and just." Ensui spoke of Naruto with so much respect that Shikaku wondered if he would be in his brother's place if Ensui remained as Clan Head and not him.

**~Behind The Mask~**

Yamanaka Santa and Fu were heading to the flower shop for the annual family dinner. It would be the first in a long while that they would be joining. Ino had ran to hug Fu and her uncle and led them inside. Inoichi spoke with Santa and asked how everything was over at ANBU Corps.

"Well, the Commander allowed us to come house and rest a bit. Paperwork had been tiring but we managed to finish them all, thus we got a short break to attend to family activities." Santa said as he chuckled.

"So, how was ninja academy, Ino? I heard that you were pair up with the Akimichi and Nara boys. Ino-Shika-Cho once more." Fu teased and Ino huffed before changing the subject.

"Oooohhh! I almost forgot! During placement, we met this boy, Uzumaki Naruto! I swear to Kami-sama he was hotter than Sasuke-kun!" Fu, Inoichi, and Santa stiffened a bit.

"What happened?" Inoichi asked.

"Well Iruka-sensei came in, congratulated us for graduating and told us who we were teamed up with and our jounin sensei's. Then when Team 7 was up, sensei said the name 'Uzumaki Naruto'. Of course forehead would have commented and acted smart, pointing out that we didn't have anyone by that name. It was true. We didn't even know who this boy was. Then Iruka-sensei corrected the forehead and pointed to the very top of the class. We all turned and saw him! He sat there and no one noticed! Even Shika and Sasuke looked stunned!" Ino gushed and both Fu and Santa laughed this time. They would have to warn their captain about Ino.

"Anyway, there he was, just sitting there and radiated so much coolness than Sasuke!" Ino continued.

"Oh? Ino has a crush on this Uzumaki boy then?" Fu teased and instantly Ino's cheek turned red.

"I-I do not!" she said and stood up, stomping to the kitchen to help her mother, leaving three adults to burst into laughter.

Inoichi then turned to the two ANBU members of the family. He didn't know what division they were on but he knew they were in ANBU. That was all they were allowed to tell.

"So, your Commander finally allowed you time off?" he teased.

"Yeah well, all paperwork got finished and there was no mission from the Hokage to do anything for the day. So instead of staying at the HQ, he told us all to head to our homes for the day and enjoy the break from missions." Fu told her Uncle Inoichi while her Uncle Santa nodded.

Inoichi then frowned.

"Do you think I should worry about Ino's… interest in Uzumaki Naruto?" he asked them and both tried not to choke.

"Well, if the rumors are true and that Naruto-kun has impeccable control with his KI and that your daughter is like that Haruno child, then yes, you should be worried. Ibiki and Anko had told you that the boy doesn't like noise right?" Santa asked and Inoichi nodded.

"Well, you should teach Ino to not be noisy then. What happened to Mitarashi Anko was no joke. She was out cold for three days when she yelled inside his home. Harsh but they already knew how the boy thought about such things. Anko had it coming." Fu said and got a nod of agreement from Santa.

Inoichi just sighed. Ino better be wiser than the Haruno girl.

**~Behind The Mask~**

Upon their return to the Hyuuga compound, Hoheto and Tokumi were stopped by Hiashi who looked surprised.

"Your both home." He said with a surprised tone as well.

Both branch members bowed.

"Yes we are, Hiashi-sama. The Commander gave us all the day off to rest. Work had been done and no new missions from the Hokage." Hoheto answered.

Just then Neji and Hinata came from around the corner and they too looked surprised.

"Is it really that shocking that we were giving a day off?" asked Tokumi as she turned to Hoheto.

"It is, Tokumi-nee-san. Ever since you got that new Commander, you and Hoheto-nii-san had barely been seen here at the compound." Neji answered politely.

"We've been busy." Hoheto said as he smirked.

"Busy indeed. Well, since both of you are here, I want you to join the family for dinner. You can tell us what's going on. Well, as much as you are allowed to shared." Hiashi said and corrected himself. He knew ANBU weren't allowed to share information to non ANBU personnel. They were allowed to speak which division or squad they were.

Hoheto and Tokumi went to change and headed to the Main House for dinner.

Neji sat next to Hoheto while Tokumi was across and sat next to Hinata.

"So, what's new? How were your team placements? Which jounin did you get Neji?" asked Hiashi.

"Maito Gai-sensei, Hiashi-sama." The adults winced in sympathy.

"How horrible. To be subject to his daily speech of 'burning flames of youth' everyday is torture enough." Tokumi expressed as she tried not to shiver at the thought of the green jumpsuit wearing jounin.

"A-a-ano… Father… Do you know anything a-about… U-u-uzumaki N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked and the adults stiffened instantly.

"How do you know that name, Hinata?" Hiashi inquired calmly.

"We-well… He was in our classroom when Iruka-sensei told us of our t-t-teams. " she answered her father who sighed.

"I'm not even sure if ANBU knows anything. But from what I know, that boy is a genius about all. A hidden treasure that is one of a kind. He has been hidden by the Hokage for good reason and for Hatake to have that boy in his team is a blessing. Uzumaki Naruto has been highly spoken of by Morino Ibiki and Mitarashi Anko, and the Hokage of course. Such talent and skills for a boy so young. He'll definitely be someone to watch out for." Hiashi said and everyone went back to their dinners.

No one saw the smirks on Hoheto and Tokumi's faces.

"_If you only knew half of it, Hiashi-sama._" Both thought to themselves.

**~Behind The Mask~**

Hana had returned home for the day as well. Many had happened and she was looking forward to see her younger brother. She was sure that Kiba would ask her if she knew her Captain for sure.

When she entered the house, her brother and mother were looking at her with wide eye shock.

"What?" she asked with confusion.

"You're home, Hana." Tsume stated with obvious shock in her voice.

"Yes, mom. I'm home. For the mean time. No more paperwork at the HQ." Hana answered as she ruffled her brother's hair and sat next to him.

"So… what did I miss?" she asked as she looked at Kiba then her mother.

"Aside from this Uzumaki dude appearing out of nowhere and looking more perfect that Uchiha Sasuke? I'm in Team 8 with Hinata and Shino. We have Yuhi Kurenai as our jounin sensei." Kiba said as he went back to eating.

Hana noticed her mother's sudden stiffness.

"Something wrong mom?" she asked.

"Uzumaki Naruto… the boy is strange. Until two weeks ago, no one was sure he existed. We only heard rumors. But now that many has seen him about, its no longer a question of whether or not his alive." Tsume said as she turned to her daughter.

"And what is the question now?" Hana asked.

"Whether or not he is loyal to the village." Hana stiffened and bit her tongue.

She almost slipped and defended her captain.

"And what do you mean by that? Surely this boy would be loyal. He is of Konoha right?" Hana inquired carefully. She had to be extremely careful since she didn't want to be the reason the identity of her captain be revealed to the public through her mother.

"You see… the village had never been kind to him." Tsume admitted and Hana mentally scoffed.

At least her mother admitted it.

"But then again, as the rumors said, Uzumaki Naruto has been hidden away from the whole village. I've been hearing about him for the past two weeks now and its quite amazing what I've gotten from the grapevines. Naruto-kun is said to be a protégé, surpassing Uchiha Itachi and Hatake Kakashi both, in intelligence and skills. That first off is just amazing. Then the Hokage had said that Naruto-kun's patience rivals that of the Yondaime. To be able to handle Haruno and Uchiha brats daily, I'd give him a medal if I meet him." Hana said and chuckled as she stood up and got a bowl from the kitchen.

"From the Hokage himself, he told us that Naruto-kun will protect the village with his life. If the Hokage has that much faith and trust in him, then its good enough for me as well." Hana said as she returned from the kitchen with a bowl and a pair of chopsticks. She didn't want to talk about it anymore or she might slip. But one thing she was sure off; if her mother bad mouthed her captain, Hana would leave the house and never come back.

**~Behind The Mask~**

When Torune entered the Aburame compound, his uncle Shiba and cousin Shino were heading up to the main house as well. The father and son duo turned to look at him and though their face didn't betray them, it was obvious that they were surprised to see him home. He would be too if someone he knew would be home from HQ so early and had not been seen for a very long while now.

"We got the day off." Was all Torune said and got nods.

Preparation for dinner was quick and quiet until Shino turned to his cousin.

"What do the ANBU know about a boy named Uzumaki Naruto?" Torune and Shiba raised a brow.

"Not much aside from the fact that he is a genius, has impeccable chakra control, and skills that may or may not put ANBU into shame if faced with him. Young yet he is excellent with what he knows and uses that to his advantage. A rumor turned truth came when Mitarashi Anko confirmed that she was beaten by Uzumaki-san and was unconscious for three days because she was yelling within his property. It was seconded by Morino Ibiki." Torune answered and even Shiba nodded.

That was what he had heard as well. So aside from that, no one really knew what the boy could do. But he had a feeling that the blond boy would change the world for the better. And Shiba has never been wrong.

**~Behind The Mask~**

The week had been busy. D-rank missions left and right. However, Naruto was able to appear as if he was relaxing as two or three of his clones did the work for him. This made Sasuke and Sakura really angry and said that it was cheating.

"I'm a ninja. Cheating, deceiving, lying, and killing are part of the job description. Just because _you_ can't do it doesn't mean I can't use any technique in my arsenal to make these D-ranks more… relaxing for me.." he answered as he disappeared.

Naruto had new paperwork to finish and had to meet the Hokage. He left a clone in his office, vanished, and reappeared beside the Hokage.

"Ah, Yeou. Just in time. I finished reading your mission report and wanted to ask why you kept one of the ROOT ninjas. Any particular reason?" Sarutobi asked as the masked ANBU Captain was kneeling in front of the Hokage.

"The boy had a special skill that allows everything he draws come to life. Owl and Snake are already trying to find ways to get the Seal from his tongue. If they can't, I'll question Danzo personally." Yeou said coldly which made the Hokage shiver a bit.

It was just then than Team 7 entered the office and all of Yeou's team came and knelt behind him and the Hokage.

"Kakashi, finished another mission I see." Sarutobi commented and chuckled.

The Naruto clone had to look at the wall for a bit to conceal his amusement. He was in the same room as the original but as two different beings. Even he as the clone could feel the amusement coming from the whole team and the Hokage. Well, he'd amuse himself as well too.

"More like chores, jiji." 'Naruto' vocalized with his bored tone and shrugged his shoulders.

Sakura was about to hit him but the clone moved out of the way. The team can't know that he was just a clone. It would defeat the purpose of creating the illusion that Naruto was a separate being and Yeou was another. It would come in handy in the long run.

"You seriously have some issues. Do you get hit often at home? Because you really enjoy trying to hit me, Haruno." 'Naruto' said as he had moved behind the Hokage.

Sakura was sputtering in shock.

"Sakura, stop trying to hit Naruto. He didn't do anything to deserve it." Kakashi defended lightly.

"Ah… this must be Uzumaki Naruto-kun then, Hokage-sama." Yeou spoke as he turned from the one eyed jounin to the blond 'boy'.

"Yes, this is Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto, this is ANBU Captain and Commander Yeou." The Hokage introduced then chuckled. It was indeed amusing to introduce a clone to its maker.

'Naruto' turned from the Hokage to the masked captain and bowed.

"Pleasure to meet you, Captain Yeou." 'Naruto' said formally, hiding the amusement in his eyes.

"I have watched you for some time now. Promising. And your file is impeccable as well." Yeou told his clone with amusement in his voice known only to his team and the Hokage.

Kakashi and the other two genin were in shock. To hear _the_ Commander of ANBU to compliment a 'genin' was a feat.

"Team 7, this is ANBU Captain and Commander Yeou. He is the Captain of Squad Zero and Kakashi, I think you'll be able to feel in the details to your team after this, yes?" the said jounin nodded.

"The other two members are Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. You already know Kakashi." The Hokage continued a bit and Yeou nodded.

"Commander." Kakashi greeted and bowed.

Yes the boy was young but Kakashi knew he didn't stand a change even with his _chidori_ and _Sharingan_.

Sasuke was sure that being the last Uchiha would make the ANBU Commander praise him as well. He was currently rookie of the year.

"Uchiha? The last one not to mention that the another one is still alive yet missing. File says rookie of the year yet from what my team told me about the bell test, he was knock out cold by Uzumaki-kun with one hit. The Haruno didn't fare any better. One slap and she went down." Yeou stated facts before turning to the Hokage.

"I don't know why you placed them on the same team as the Uzumaki. They'd weigh him down for sure. The boy is more than Kakashi and Itachi combined. But then again, I sometimes wonder about other things as well." Yeou added.

Sasuke was pissed off, Sakura blushed in embarrassment,

Sasuke wanted to say something but he knew it would ruin him if he did. He was going to tell off an ANBU. A commander at that. No, Sasuke wasn't suicidal. He'd wait to find out just who this Yeou person was when Kakashi would tell them in a bit.

"Hokage-sama, we shall take our leave now. If my team can't find the solution to remove the seal ourselves, we'll have to ask Uzumaki-kun's help to get the answer from Danzo." Yeou turned to the blond 'boy'.

"Please expect one of my team members to collect you in a day or two. You already made so much progress with Danzo. Just one more would be appreciated." Yeou said and got a nod from the other.

"Anything to help. However, I do recommend you serve Danzo a cup of chamomile tea just before I talk to him. The last time was… stressed him out." 'Naruto' said and smirked.

Yeou and his team bowed to the Hokage once more and then disappeared.

Sasuke got madder now. He was seething with fury! He was spoken too as if he was nothing and the blond dobe got all the attention!

"Naruto, may I ask why the Commander asked for your help with Danzo?" Kakashi asked as he turned to the blond.

"Well, it was because I was the one who got Danzo to talk and spill everything he knew about everything that mattered. Lasted half an hour before he caved in. Ibiki and Anko got tired out before I arrived." 'Naruto' answered like it was nothing of importance which shocked Kakashi.

"Ne ne ne… Hokage-jiji, can we please have a better mission? Anything BUT D-rank because if I do one more chore, I will level whatever it is and leave nothing behind." The clone pouted which made the Hokage sighed. He knew this was what Naruto would do if he was the one here and not the clone.

"Alright then, Naruto-kun. A simple C-rank escort mission. How about it?" Sarutobi asked as he turned to look at the rest of Team 7 who were in shock.

Was it really that easy? Or was it because 'Naruto' asked?

"Yes! As long as no D-rank for the moment. They really tire me out." He whined a bit until Sakura exploded.

"Tire you out?! You make your clones do the work for you!" she yelled.

"You know Haruno, I really ought to review your file again. I really don't know how you are the brightest of the newly graduates. For your information, when using shadow clones, every memory that they have will transfer to me when they dispel. The aches of their muscles will be mine as well. And since I use more than one clone to do my work, imagine the pain I'll be experiencing _after_." He explained and huffed.

Kakashi nodded.

Sasuke stared.

Sakura was digesting the information.

And the Hokage…

The Hokage was in a deep state of shock.

"Shadow clones…" he repeated weakly and 'Naruto' nodded.

For the fun of it, it took one of the blank papers on the table, took the unused brush and dipped it in ink before drawing a circle in the middle of the paper. Then he added two words in the middle of the circle: HIT HERE. 'Naruto' then placed the paper in front of the Hokage who numbly looked down and then turned to clone.

"Thank you." Sarutobi said before banging his head on the paper that was on his desk three times, four ANBU's came from their hiding places, worried a bit.

"What happened to the Hokage, Genin Uzumaki?" asked the one with a turtle shaped masked.

"Hokage-jiji just discovered the secret to paperwork." He answered and gave the Hokage a quick yet warm hug before moving to stand next to his team who were still in shock.

"Come back tomorrow and I'll explain your mission." Sarutobi instructed and Team 7 quickly left the room but heard a cry of misery as the door closed.

Owl and Snake were outside the office when Team 7came and handed 'Naruto' a small pouch and grumbled.

"The Hokage didn't even last until you left the building." Snake whined a bit and 'Naruto' laughed.

"Nice working with you gentlemen." The blond said and both ANBU's nodded and vanished.

"Uhm… Naruto? What was that?" Sakura asked with an unsure tone.

"That? Oh, Ibiki, Anko, Tenzo, and I along with a few ANBU's had this bet about the Hokage. The bet was how long before he'd crack and cry _after_ finding the secret to paperwork. I said that he won't last five minutes. Ibiki said that Hokage-jiji would at least last until he went home. Anko and Tenzo were on that bet too. The ANBU's said that the Hokage would break down after we leave the building. So I won." The explanation was shocking but it made sense.

"Alright, before I dismiss you let's head to the bridge for a bit." Kakashi said as he broke the silence that surrounded them.

'Naruto' knew what Kakashi was going to say and the real one would be there before the team arrived. 'Naruto' then made the perfect excuse.

"Race!" he then vanished, leaving a small pile of leaves, making the impression that he used shunshin.

**~Behind The Mask~**

The real Naruto was already there, sitting on the branch of a tree as the rest of the team came.

"Alright. As the Hokage said, an explanation on who Commander Yeou is. First off, he is young. He is about twelve years old and has been the Commander for ANBU since he was ten." Kakashi began and both Sakura and Sasuke screamed at the same time.

"WHAT?!"

Naruto was not pleased but didn't do anything since it would mean more time to wait until the other two to wake up if he hit them now.

"Yes. ANBU Commander Yeou is currently twelve years old. All information about him is SS-rank and Hokage's Eyes Only. He is a genius among geniuses. Rumor started that was later confirmed that he was well disciplined in all eighteen ninja ways: Seishinteki kyōyō, Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, Bōjutsu, Yarijutsu, Naginatajutsu, Kusarigamajutsu, Shurikenjutsu, Kayakujutsu, Hensōjutsu, Shinobi-iri, Bajutsu, Sui-ren, Bōryaku, Chōhō, Intonjutsu, Tenmon, and Chi-mon." Kakashi narrated as the group listened.

"That being said, in a spar with him, I won't stand a chance. Even his seven best ANBU's wont stand a chance if they attacked him together. They would still lose. That is how strong he is. The Shinobi and Civilian Council never questions his work since they always see that everything he does works out perfectly. When out on missions with his team, no matter how dangerous and deadly, Commander and Captain Yeou would _always_ manage to bring his team back with barely a scratch on them. As far as I know, despite being young, the young Captain has killed more than two hundred rogues, B to S-rank missing nins and is in the bingo book s all over five countries."

"Under his name is a _flee on sight_ order and never to be engaged less one opens his arms in excitement to meet Death. He is SSS-ranked and rumored to be on the same level as the three Sannins of Konoha… if not, greater." Kakashi finished and Naruto was smirking.

He was flattered that Kakashi seemed to know so much about him and regarded that he (Kakashi) wouldn't able to beat him (Naruto) in a spar.

"Sensei, the Hokage mentioned a Squad Zero. What did he mean?" Sakura asked and Kakashi sighed.

"Squad Zero is the strongest, more respected Squad of all ANBU. The members are: Hawk, Cat, Wolf, Crane, Owl, Sparrow, and Snake. No one knows if they are all males or mixed. They were hand picked by Captain Yeou himself and trained by him as well. Owl and Snake were the first. After a while, the rest came. Not many know what happens during their missions since the ones they do are for the Hokage's Knowledge alone. Unless he shared it himself, no one would have any idea just how dangerous their missions are. And if you ask if I know who they are behind their masks, I'm sorry. I don't know who they are. No one knows who is who under the masks. Not even the Captain himself." Kakashi remarked which made Naruto smirk.

"_Wrong, Kakashi. I know just who exactly my team are behind their masks as they know me._" Naruto thought to himself.

"Does anyone know or have seen the Captain behind his mask?" Sakura asked again.

"Only one person knows: the Hokage. It was the Hokage who had brought the Captain to ANBU and only he knows just who Captain Yeou is. And rumor has it that whoever captures his attention, depending on which side, Captain Yeou would always have them when he wants them." Kakashi then turned to the now confused looking Naruto.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Captain Yeou obviously wants you, Naruto. He complimented you. Its rare to hear him speak that way." The jounin answered.

"And you know this because?" Sasuke asked with a tone.

"Because I was a former ANBU member but not part of his team. I wasn't strong enough to and I have a feeling that if Squad Zero had a female member, that female member would be able to beat me without trouble." Kakashi told the now shocked Uchiha.

Naruto was once more surprised. Kakashi held his team on such a high regard. He didn't know that Squad Zero made such an impression.

Sakura then turned to look up and scowled.

"I don't what's so great about you?! Just because you won a mock spar with Sasuke-kun doesn't make you any better than him." she said haughtily.

Naruto raised a brow.

"And how dare you even conclude that I am being hit at home?! I'm going to tell my dad about you! His part of the civilian council!" she bragged which just made Naruto smirked and appeared in front of her the next second.

"A civilian council member eh? Go ahead. I don't mind you telling your father that I insinuated that you are being abused at home. I have several witnesses that can attest to the fact that because you seem to enjoy instantly hit others, you are being abused at home." Naruto informed her and moved back a bit.

"And another thing, I'm a shinobi. Even if your father is a member of the council, any case they bring up against a shinobi will be turned over to the _shinobi_ council and the Hokage. And just so you know, the Clan Heads of Konoha might even berate your father for even attempting to wage a one sided war against me. Try me Haruno Sakura and see just how far I can bring you and your family down." Naruto imparted with a cold tone before disappearing right before their eyes.

**~Behind The Mask~**

Later that evening, Naruto and his unmasked members were inside his private library.

"In two days, Team 7 will be leaving for a C-rank escort mission. Since I cannot have all seven of you to come along, only three will come while the four remain here and protect the Hokage at all times." Naruto began and Hana sighed. She just knew she'd be staying.

"Ensui, Santa, and Torune. Your coming with me. The rest stays." The three members that were called were rejoicing in their heads while the other four sighed and dropped their heads.

"Listen. It will not be public knowledge that I will be leaving the village but Captain Yeou will be 'on leave' for a 'mission' only the Hokage knows. I expect to return with the village still intact and unharmed. Is that clear?" he asked using his Captain voice.

All four who were staying stood up straighter and answered together.

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Good. Now, as for you three gentlemen, I want you to pack for a two weeks worth. I can already tell that this will take a while." Naruto said as he took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Sir, yes sir." The three answered.

"If none of you have any questions, your dismissed." Naruto said as he was about to stand when Fu raised her hand.

"Captain… This isn't a question but a bit of a.. uhm…. Warning in a way." Fu said as she scratched her head.

"Warning? About what?" Naruto asked.

"Well, you see Captain, I have a cousin who has taken… an interest in you. Yamanaka Ino has spoken about you during dinner when you gave us the time off and we were able to conclude that she has… a crush on you." Fu said as she fidgeted on the spot she was standing on.

Naruto on the other hand was shocked. He blinked as his mind tried to process what he just heard.

"Did you just say…" Naruto trailed off when Santa nodded which made him sigh.

"Despite the fact that I am the ANBU Commander and Captain of Squad Zero, I am still twelve years old and have no… intentions for such things at the moment." Naruto informed his team as he gathered himself and stood up.

"You best tell you niece, Fu, that I am not likely someone she ought to pin after. She will only be disappointed." Naruto added as he then left his study and his team to rest up for the meeting with the Hokage in the morning.

"Well, at least he was honest and said that he wasn't interested." Torune commented and the rest nodded.

"I wonder—" Santa asked but was stopped by Ensui.

"Don't. I know what your thinking Santa and no. Don't even go there. Like the Captain said, he is still young and not interested in such things." Ensui countered Santa who sighed and let go of the topic.

However it left the other five with a confused look on their face. What did Santa want to ask? And why did Ensui stop Santa? The five knew asking was out of the question so they'd just have to wait.

**~Behind The Mask~**

At ten o'clock sharp, the rest of Team 7 were at the office of the Hokage. Naruto was already there, having tea.

"Team 7, your C-rank mission, should you choose to accept it(*), is to escort the Bridge Builder Tazuna to Wave Country safety and make sure that the bridge is finished before returning." The Hokage explained, leaving out the why they had to stay. He'd let Naruto explain it to the rest if they asked later on.

"We'll accept it, Hokage-sama." Kakashi answered and accepted the scroll that the Hokage then offered to him.

Just then, the door opened and a slightly chubby man came in. He reeked of alcohol which annoyed Naruto already.

"These are my guards? I don't feel so safe. They're kids." Tazuna said and his breath came off which made Sakura wanted to vomit and Sasuke would have rushed to the window for air if he wasn't so stiff.

Naruto just sat next to the Hokage and looked pissed bit hid it behind his tea cup.

"We don't look like it? You don't look like a Bridge Builder at all. You reek of alcohol and its not even noon. It's obvious that you've surpassed the capernoited(1) stage as it is. However, I must commend you. Your currently physical appearance, add the jumentous(2) air around you, just made my usually stoic and stiff teammate want to run as far away as he can to not have to inhale the air in this room that you had contaminated when you arrived." Naruto commented and silence fell.

Two words were used and it made the minds of the people shut down instantly. Despite not understanding what the blond one said, _everyone_ knew, even Tazuna himself, that Naruto insulted the client. They just didn't know how.

"Now hold on just a god damn minute you—" Tazuna sobered up and yelled but was stopped by Naruto when he spoke and a very small sliver of KI was aimed at the client.

"I do not appreciate your lalochezia(3) so cease it before I do it for you. Permanently." Naruto warned the man coldly who swallowed hard and nodded instantly.

They rest of Team 7 just realized that the blond member of their team was not someone they could simply push around.

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**A/N: That's all for now! How was it? Longest chapter for these series to date. Did you like it? Read and review then please. ^_^**

*** the reference is from Mission Impossible. Its asked whenever there is a new mission for Ethan to do. "Your mission, should you choose to accepted it…" Couldn't help it. It was the perfect spot of the line. XD**

**(1)** capernoited- slightly drunk or tipsy

**(2)** jumentous- smells like horse urine

**(3)** lalochezia- the use of foul or abusive language to relieve stress or voice out anger

**Squad Zero:**

**(Hawk) ****Aburame Torune****- **Shino's cousins who got recruited to ROOT by Danzo. Not in my story though. XD

**(Cat) ****Yamanaka Fu****- **Ino's cousin (I think?) Also from ROOT. Both are best friends and so they shall be here but Fu in the manga is male. Fu here is female.

**(Wolf) ****Hyuuga Hoheto****-** from the branch family of the Hyuuga Clan.

**(Sparrow) ****Hyuuga Tokumi****-** originally Tokuma (a male in the manga) but I changed it to suit my needs. From the branch family as well.

**(Crane) ****Inuzuka Hana****- **Kiba's older sister. ANBU in my version. XD

**(Owl) ****Nara Ensui****- **Shikamaru's uncle. Not sure if he was ANBU.

**(Snake) ****Yamanaka Santa**- Ino's uncle. Same thing.

**The eighteen levels of training were as follows:**

**Seishinteki Kyoyo (Spiritual Refinement)**

The Togakure ninja worked at developing a deep and accurate knowledge of himself, his personal power, his strengths and weaknesses, and his influence on the playing out of life. The ninja had to be very clear about his intentions, his commitments, and his personal motivations in life. Personality traits could often mean the difference between life and death in his line of work. Exercises in mental endurance, ways of looking at things, and proper perspective when evlatuating things, were taught to the ninja along with his physical skills. By evolving into a mystic's understanding of the universal process, the historical Togakure ryu ninja became a warrior philosopher. His engagements in combat were then motivated by love or reverance, and not by the mere thrill of violent danger or need of money.

**Taijutsu (Unarmed Combat)**

Skills of daken-taijutsu or striking, kicking, and blocking; jutai-jutsu or grappling, choking and escaping the holds of others, and taihenjutsu or silent movement, rolling, leaping, and tumbling asisted the Togakure ninja in life-threatening, defensive situations.

**Kenjutsu (Ninja Sword)**

The ninja's sword hada short straight single edged blade, and was considered to be his primary fighting tool. Two distinct sword skills were required of the ninja. "Fast Draw" techniques centered around drawing the sword and cutting as a simultaneous action. "Fencing" skills used the drawn sword in technique clashes with armed attackers.

**Bojutsu (Stick and Staff Fighting)**

The Japanese stick fighting art, practiced by samurai and peasants alike, was also a strong skill of the ninja. Togakure ninja were taught to use the bo long staff (six feet) and hanbo "half-staff" cane (three feet), as well as sticks and clubs of varying lengths. Specially constructed shinobi-zue or ninja canes were designed to look like the normal walking sticks, but concealed blades, chains, or darts that could be used against an enemy.

**Shurikenjutsu (Throwing Blades)**

Throwing blades were carried in concealed pockets and used as harassing weapons. The Togakure ryu used a special four-pointed throwing star called a senban shuriken, which was constructed from a thin steel plate. The blade was thrown with a flat spinning motion and hit its target with a sawing effect. Bo shuriken or straight shaft darts and spikes were also constructed for throwing.

**Yarijutsu(Spear Fighting)**

Togakure ryu ninja agents were taught to use standard Japanese spears and lances as middle-range fighting weapons. Spears and lances were used for stabbing and piercing attacks, and rarely ever thrown in normal combat. The togakure ryu also used a unique spear weapon called a kami-yari, or "sickle lance", which consisted of a spear blade with a hook at the base. The total length of the weapon was over nine feet. The lance point could be used to lunge and stab, and the hook point could be used to snag and pull the opponent or his weapon.

**Naginatajutsu (Halberd Fighting)**

Virtually a short blade mounted on a long handle, the Japanese halberd was used for cutting and slashing attacks against adversaries at medium range. Togakure ryu ninja warriors were also proficient with the bisen-to, a huge heavy-bladed version of the naginata halberd. Based on a chinese war tool, the broad-bladed weapon was heavy enough to knock down attackers, smash through armor, and ground the horses of mounted samurai.

**Kusarigamajutsu (Chain and Sickle Weapon)**

The Japanese chain and sickle weapon was adopted into the arsenal of the Togakure ryu ninja. A chain, six to nine feet in length and weighted at one end, was attached to the handle of the traditional grain cutting tool. The chain could be used to block or ensnare the enemy's weapon, and the blade then used to finish off the attacker. The kyoketsu-shoge, a weapon similar to the chain and sickle, was favored by the togakure ryu. The weapon consisted of a straight hand-held dagger blade with a secondary blade hooking out from the hilt, attached to a fifteen foot resilient cord usually made from women's or horse's hair. A large steel ring was attached to the free end of the cord.

**Kayaku-Jutsu (Fire and Explosives)**

Ninja were experts in the effective placement, timing, and rigging of explosive devices for demolition and distraction. In later years, the use of black powders and other explosives was suplimented with knowledge of firearms and their strategic applications.

**Henso-Jutsu (Disguise and Impersonation)**

Essential to the ninja's espeionage work was his ability to assume false identites and move undetected through his area of operation. More than merely just putting on a costume, ninjutsu's disguise system involved thoroughly impersonating the character adopted. Personality traits, areas of knowledge, and body dynamics of the identity assumed were ingrained into the nijna's way of thinking and reacting. He or she literally became the new personality, whether taking the role of a monk, craftsman, or wandering entertainer.

**Shinobi-Iri (Stealth and Entering Methods)**

The ninja's techniques of silent movement, breaking and entering, and gaining access to inaccessible areas became legends in feudal Japan . Togakure ryu ninja learned special walking and running methods for covering long distances, passing over floors silently, and for staying in the shadows while moving, in order to facilitate entry and escape.

**Ba-Jutsu (Horsemanship)**

Togakure ryu ninja were taught to be proficient on horseback, both in riding and mounted combat skills.

**Sui-Ren (Water Training)**

Stealth swimming, silent movement through water, methods of using special boats and floats to cross over water, and underwater combat techniques were taught to Togakure ryu ninja.

**Bo-Ryaku (Strategy)**

Unconventional tactics of deception and battle, political plots, and advantageous timing for use of current events were used by Togakure ryu ninja. By employing or influencing seemingly outside forces to bring the enemy around to doing what the ninja wanted him to do, ninja were able to work their will without drawing undue attention to themselves.

**Cho Ho (Espionage)**

Methods of successful espionage were perfected. This included ways of locating and recruiting spies and served as a guide for using espionage agents most effectively.

**Inton-Jutsu (Escape and Concealment)**

Ninja were experienced masters in the ways of using nature to cover their exit, allowing them to "dissapear" at will. The goton-po five elements of escape were based on a working familiarity with the creative use of earth, water, fire, metal, and wood aspects of nature and the environment.

**Ten-Mon (Meteorology)**

Forecasting and taking advantage of weather and seasonal phenomena was an important part of any battle consideration. Ninja were trained to observe all the subtle signals from the environment in order to predict weather conditions.

**Chi-Mon (Geography)**

Knowing and successfully using the features of the terrain were crucial skills in the historical art of ninjutsu


	5. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO NO MATTER HOW MUCH I WANT TOO!**

**Please visit my profile for an important poll. The future of Naruto is 75% in your hands so vote wisely!**

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**4. Haruno vs. Namikaze Uzumaki**

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They were given the whole day to prepare for their first C-rank mission. Sakura had chosen to run home after being dismissed. Naruto was going to be in trouble soon.

Or so she thought.

The moment she reached her home, she went to search for her father who was in the kitchen with her mother.

"Daddy! You're a council member right?" Sakura asked and both her parents turned to her.

"Welcome home, princess. And yes, I am. Something wrong?" Haruno Kizashi asked.

"Well, there is this member of my team, Uzumaki Naruto. Yesterday, in front of the Hokage, he said that I'm being abused at home!" she said as she pouted and bother her parents frowned.

"Who is this Uzumaki Naruto? I don't think I've ever heard of him."Haruno Mebuki asked with a frown as well.

"His an orphan. Don't know who or where he came from. He was just there on the day of team placement. His a bit strong but that's it." Sakura complained, omitting the fact that Naruto had defeated Sasuke and their jounin so easily.

"Hmm… I'll take care of this immediately, Princess." Kizashi said as he stood up, placed a kiss on his daughter's head and left the house.

Sakura smirked at her victory, not knowing that this was going to be the cause of her family's downfall.

**~Behind the Mask~**

Kizashi had went over to talk to Koharu and Homura, two other council members that had a lot to say unlike the rest. He then explained to the two and all three thought that this Uzumaki Naruto ought to be placed where he belonged. Not three hours later, the rest of the council members, along with the shinobi council and the Hokage, were gathered in the meeting room of the Hokage Tower.

Many of the civilian council had heard of Danzo's demise because of his disobedience to the order of the Hokage. He had been sentenced to fifty years in confinement and only the Hokage knew where the man was sent.

Sakura was at home with her mother and was excited that she'd get rid of Naruto just before the first C-rank mission. She'd have Sasuke all to herself and no Naruto to make her and Sasuke look like idiots.

"This better be good, councilmen." Hiashi warned as he was unceremoniously called from his home.

"The civilian council wishes to charge one genin for painting the House of Haruno as abusive. This shinobi had claimed yesterday that I, Haruno Kizashi, abused and had used corporal punishment upon my own daughter and spoke this in front of the Hokage." Kizashi said seriously and after a few moments, the Hokage smirked.

"Just to make it clear, you called us all here in order to clean your name and make sure that I do not assume that what the said genin concluded earlier is true. Am I correct?" Sarutobi summarized the whole thing in one sentence and got a nod.

"Hokage-sama, this is an act of slander against my own family name. My daughter came home earlier and said that the genin had made this comment in front of you and that he was not even told off by the jounin." Kizashi said with a bit of anger in his voice.

Sarutobi chuckled and leaned back on his seat, turning to the shadows as he knew his ANBU would be there.

"Go and call Naruto. He'd just love to burn Haruno down himself." The Hokage whispered and the Turtle masked ANBU then appeared, nodded, and the disappeared once more.

"Kizashi, just how far are you willing to take this matter?" Sarutobi asked with amusement. The shinobi wondered why the Hokage wasn't at all troubled and was even amused by this.

"I want this genin punished for slander against my House, Hokage-sama." Kizashi answered seriously.

"Very well then… for the rest of you council members, both shinobi and civilian, the genin who had spoken and claimed such against Haruno Kizashi is, Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto." Sarutobi said and the whole place went dead quiet.

The shinobi councilmen went dead pale and some of the civilian did the same. The silence of the room was deafening until a knock on the door broke it and as the door opened, one blond twelve year old came in, looking so angry which just made the people who pale minus the Hokage fear for the end result. They had heard of what the boy had been able to do to Danzo and if the rumors were true, Haruno Kizashi was going to burn to the ground.

And none of them would lift a finger less they be burned along with the foolish man as well.

"I do hope that there is a good reason why I was called out from the comforts of my home, Hokage-jiji." Naruto stated, his words laced with evil intent that even the Hokage swallowed hard.

"My apologies, Naruto-kun. But there is a charge that was brought up against you by the House of Haruno. Yesterday, you had claimed and concluded that Haruno Sakura was abused in her home, did you not?" the Hokage asked and got a nod.

"Why wouldn't I claim as such? The girl has this issue with punching people whenever matters do no go her way. I know for a fact that several ANBU operatives keep watch over me, Hokage-jiji and I am sure that if you call upon them, they will testify to the fact that Haruno Sakura enjoys 'punch now, worry about repercussions later'. And you know very well I do not take lightly to such actions. Mitarashi Anko was enough proof of that." Naruto warned the once more paling members.

The Clan Heads remember what Ibiki and Anko had shared at the bar before. They remembered every word and even what Hatake Kakashi said.

"Turtle, call on the members of Squad Zero. I think its about time that the rest of the council, both shinobi and civilian be informed, just who Naruto-kun is. That is if it's alright with you, Naruto." Naruto nodded.

"I think it is. This ought to be the first and only reminder for everyone to keep their hands off where it doesn't belong. And to make sure members don't abuse their positions." Naruto said as he stood up straighter.

The next minute, the members of Squad Zero arrived. They kneeling behind Naruto who was given a chair to sit on and looked like he was going to be torturing someone soon.

"Members of the Shinobi and Civilian Council, what you are about to find out is an SS-rank secret, punishable by extreme torture and death if found guilty of betraying." The members nodded.

"Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, twelve years old, is the son of the late Yondaime Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, heir to the Uzumaki Line and Land of Whirlpools. He is also the vessel of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox who had nearly destroyed our village. Minato had sacrificed himself and the life of his own son in order to save the village and all of you should be grateful that Naruto-kun has a Will of Iron. If his own will fails and he dies, the seal Minato placed on him will disappear and the Kyuubi will once more come out and this time, there wouldn't be a Yondaime to seal it back away." Sarutobi said and the whole room was dead quiet once more.

"Aside from this, Naruto is also the current Commander of ANBU and Captain of the strongest Squad our village has: Squad Zero." The whole room wanted to die as Naruto's KI lashed out, nearly suffocating the rest minus the Hokage.

"As you all know by now, Danzo's treachery was discovered by Naruto-kun's squad and dealt by them immediately. All threats to the village had been neutralized and it is all due to Naruto-kun's hard work and planning." Sarutobi added before looking down at Naruto and smiled.

"Naruto, I assume that with the lack of reaction from your Squad members, they know who you are behind your mask yes?"

"Correct, Hokage-jiji. Due to the fact that you had assigned me a long term mission to make sure the last remaining Uchiha does not die or leave the village for some reason or another, I had to inform my team the reason why my presence in ANBU HQ won't be as always as before. Even with _Kage Bunshin_, my team would wonder and they have the right to know. So I told them and they themselves had proven their loyalty by accepting without judging me before I explained to them the whole truth." Naruto said and smirked.

The rest of the council members swallowed hard and Haruno Kizashi wanted the earth to open and swallow him that very moment.

"Now that we have that mattered cleared, let us return to the very reason why we are all gathered here. Members of Squad Zero, can you testify to this room the actions of Haruno Sakura against Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto?" Sarutobi asked and all seven nodded.

"It started out during Hatake Kakashi's bell test for his team. Captain Yeou or Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto at that time, engaged the jounin for a spar since he had already figured out the meaning of the test given." Owl began.

"Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke were in hiding and had watched as the Captain sparred with Kakashi and pushed the jounin back, withholding as much power as he could for sure." Cat placed her testimony.

"Uchiha Sasuke came out from his hiding place and instead of attacking Kakashi as the test required, he attacked the Captain who then proceeded to defeat the boy without killing him." Wolf joined in.

"The Haruno girl then came out yelling to the Captain and demanded to know why he had hurt the Uchiha. She then attempted to hit him but the Captain slapped her down. She was lucky that that was what she received and not the same as Anko. The Haruno was yelling and Captain disfavors loud noises and disciplines when needed." Snake placed his two cents.

The Hokage and the Shinobi council members nodded in agreement. Haruno Sakura did get off lightly.

"But I take there is more?" asked Chouza and got nods.

"Yes sir. Haruno then stood up and attempted to punch the Captain when he had his back on her and had sent her slamming to the tree a few feet away. A very withheld punch was aimed at her stomach and nothing more. She got off so lightly that she ought to be thankful that the Captain did not do more." Sparrow said, nearly sneering but had kept it close.

"Again, yesterday morning after Team 7 came to the Hokage's office, Haruno Sakura attempted to hit the Captain's shadow clone as the Captain was there as himself when Team 7 came in." Crane stated which made the Hokage laugh a bit.

"Yes, it was quite amusing to have introduced Naruto as Yeou to Naruto's own clone." Sarutobi commented then turned serious.

"As witnesses have spoken and we have heard all this, Haruno Kizashi, do you still wish to proceed?" Sarutobi asked and all yes were on him.

The man swallowed hard and paled dramatically when he saw that the ANBU Commander and Captain of Squad Zero was glaring at him.

"Haruno Kizashi, a man who had abused his position just because his daughter omitted important parts of the whole event. She didn't even mentioned that for someone who was noted to be the brightest of her batch, she failed to see the true purpose of the bell test and had been nothing but a dead weight to the team since passing. Your daughter is nothing but a useless snot nosed brat that should be thankful for still existing. I killed missing nins for less." Naruto spat at him.

"In compensation for the accusation without proof and abuse of power, Haruno Kizashi, you are now stripped of your status as civilian council member and will pay Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto ten million ryo punishment. All in favor of this _light_ sentence, raised your hand." Sarutobi asked and all hands were up.

"Punishment given and stripping shall be done immediately. All topics and information discussed today and within this room shall never be repeated outside less the culprit be sentenced to death. Meeting adjourned." Sarutobi commanded and everyone stood up.

"Naruto, please proceed to my office." The Hokage asked and the boy nodded, disappearing right then and there along with his team.

Haruno Kizashi had just made the biggest mistake of his life and lost everything he had worked so hard for just because his daughter had complained about the boy who turned out to be more powerful than all the Shinobi and Civilian Council members combined.

**~Behind the Mask~**

When Kizashi came home, the first thing he did was head to the kitchen and when his eyes landed on his daughter, he had back slapped her, causing Sakura to fall to the ground.

"Kizashi! What's wrong with you?!" Mebuki exclaimed as she rushed to her daughter's side.

"That is no daughter of mine! Because of her! We lost everything! Uzumaki Naruto… that boy is more powerful that all the council members combined. I lost my civilian council member status and we will most likely lost everything we own because our _daughter_ failed to speak the _whole_ truth of what had happened!" Kizashi yelled and Sakura paled, still holding her cheek.

"You didn't think that the boy would have witnesses, did you?! You had told me that he claimed you were abused and you omitted that you had attacked him more than one time and even went as far as to do so when he had his back on you! You stupid useless child! We will lose everything I had worked so hard for my whole life just because of your stupidity!" Kizashi said as he grabbed Sakura's hair and spat angrily at her.

"On your mission tomorrow, I won't even care if you live or die." He said as he dropped the girl and left the kitchen, his wife stunned at what she had just heard.

Sakura was crying as she came to realized what her father had just told her. And Naruto's words came back to haunt her so clearly.

"_Try me Haruno Sakura and see just how far I can bring you and your family down."_ Naruto's voice spoke so clearly like he was there, taunting her for her actions that caused the downfall of her family.

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**A/N: That's all for now! How was it? Shortest chapter I think. This is an intermission just before they leave for Wave. Did you like it? Read and review then please. ^_^**


	6. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO NO MATTER HOW MUCH I WANT TOO!**

**Poll Results!**

**[Kakashi- **54%] -*-*-*- [**Itachi-** 18%] -*-*-*- [**Sasuke- **9%] -*-*-*- [**Neji-** 9%] -*-*-*- [**Gaara- **9%] -*-*-*- [**Shikamaru-** 0%]

**THE WINNER: HATAKE KAKASHI!**

**WARNING: Chapter may contain scenes not suitable for people who don't like YAOI. Reader discretion to skip scene is advised. You have been warned.**

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**5. Wave II**

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When Naruto and the Hokage were in the safety of the Hokage's office, Hiruzen sealed the door and sighed as he turned to look at Naruto who looked torn between boredom and anger still.

"Naruto, I know that we had not planned for both councils to know who you are this early. But I think we made the best choice. Now that they know who you are, they will think twice before attempting to do anything or go against everything you do. Now that Danzo is gone, the civilian council will be easier to keep an eye on. Danzo had been their biggest alley because of his ROOT." The old man voiced out his thoughts and Naruto nodded.

"I know… Its just that as much as I didn't want for something so small to grow this big, it was inevitable thanks to that useless kunoichi. I won't lie to you when I say that I am not excited to see her tomorrow because I am. I warned her and she chose not to take my warning to heart. This is all her fault now." Naruto told the Hokage who sighed.

"I know… I just hope that you won't be so hard on her. I think you got your point across now that Haruno Kizashi is losing everything he worked for."

"-which would not have happened if he had not done what he did." Naruto added just after the Hokage spoke.

Both fell into peaceful silence as both contemplated on the events of tomorrow.

**~Behind the Mask~**

Naruto had briefed the three escorting ANBU's to never reveal themselves unless Naruto ordered them to do so or if it was a matter of life and death. He had prepared clothes similar to that of his ANBU uniform and decided to leave his sword behind. Naruto knew that Kakashi would instantly know who he really was if Kakashi saw Naruto with a sword strapped to his back.

Downstairs, he was joined by the Hokage, Tenzo, Ibiki, and Anko for breakfast. The meal went smoothly and the four bid Naruto a safe journey to and from Wave.

The three ANBU's blended well into the surroundings as Naruto made his way to the Gates where he was meeting the rest of his team and the client.

The moment he appeared, Sakura paled and began to tremble. A bruised cheek showed Naruto that she must have been hit when Haruno Kizashi had returned from the Tower yesterday. Sasuke then came just after and wasn't as smart to avoid asking.

"What happened to you?" the raven haired boy asked his female teammate.

Sakura began to tremble as she recalled the events that happened yesterday when her father returned home. Tears began to fall down her cheek when she remembered her fathers words.

"_On your mission tomorrow, I won't even care if you live or die_." The words of her father rang through her head clearly.

Naruto merely smirked.

"I think that Haruno finally understood my warning. Too bad it was too late and her family is paying for her idiotic mistake." Naruto commented with boredom lacing his voice and Sakura continued to cry in silence.

Sasuke then remembered that Sakura threatened Naruto that her father was a council member. But then Sasuke also remembered that Naruto warned her that he'd bring her and the whole Haruno family down if she did. It seemed like Naruto had won, just looking at the crying girl.

"What happened to her family?" Sasuke asked as he turned to look at Naruto.

"Sakura went to her father as predicted. However, she failed to tell Haruno Kizashi the whole events. She only mentioned a few parts which I can easily guess she exaggerated to make sure that her father would believe her. He did so without question and called for an emergency session with both the shinobi and civilian council members. The Hokage was present to and Haruno Kizashi accused me of slander against his name without so much as proof. He was at a disadvantage since the Hokage testified as well that Haruno Sakura did attempt to attack me. Several ANBU operatives testified as well and because the Haruno Head had no evidence or witnesses to counter mine, he was stripped from his civilian council member status for abuse of power and vile accusation against me. To top it all off, the Haruno's now owe me ten million ryo's as compensation for the actions that had been done yesterday." Naruto shared with a very malicious smirk on his face.

Sasuke's eyes widen in shock. Naruto had not only gotten back at the useless kunoichi but he went as far as crushing her whole family along with her.

"I did warn her that I would bring her and her whole family down if she tried. She didn't take my advice seriously. Now she has to live with the consequences." Naruto ended the conversation just in time to see the one eyed jounin come with the client.

"Now that were all here, let's move out." Kakashi said and got nods from the rest.

As they passed by the two guards on duty, Kakashi and the rest minus Naruto and his three ANBU's noticed that the two chuunins bowed to Naruto when he passed by.

**~Behind the Mask~**

It was early afternoon when the whole group had been broken the silence that had surrounded them.

"What is Wave country like, Tazuna-san?" Sakura asked, trying to distract herself from the whole silence. She got tired of crying the whole morning and Naruto had snapped at her to stop.

"Well, it's a place with great scenery. The ocean is as blue as the sky above it and the breeze is cool and gentle." The client began as he told the group about his country.

However, not too long, Naruto had noticed that Tazuna had stepped on a puddle. A puddle that shouldn't have been there since it had not rained for days. The sun had been hot so any small water traces on the ground should not be there.

With a discrete set of hands seals, he had summoned an earth cage around the puddle. He was glad he did so for a few seconds later, a ninja came out of the puddle but got trapped and electrocuted to unconsciousness.

"Sakura, guard Tazuna." Naruto ordered and she nodded as she pulled out a kunai and stood in front of the old man.

Then another ninja come from the shadows.

"What did you do to my brother?!" yelled the unknown ninja.

"Nothing you should worry about. I suggest you worry about yourself rather than your brother. You are facing four opponents alone." Naruto said as he then pulled out a dozen senbons and threw it towards the ninja who was not fast enough to escape them.

He was paralyzed and fell on the ground with a thud.

"Hmmm… The Demon Brother's eh. I wonder what their doing here." Naruto said as he did a few more hand seals and had the paralyzed ninja bounded. He pulled out a large scroll from his backpack and with another set of seals, both ninjas disappeared in a poof of smoke and Naruto tied the scroll back and placed it on his bag once more.

He then turned to the client, looking seriously as he analyzed the old man.

"Now, time for a few questions, Tazuna-san. Why were the Demon Brothers after you? They couldn't be after us so its obviously you. Attempt to lie and you will find out just what I did to a civilian council member who betrayed the Hokage and the village." Naruto warned and Tazuna swallowed hard.

Kakashi was staring in shock as Naruto handled the whole thing without doing anything at all. Just a few hand seals and he took out the Demon Brothers, two A-ranked missing nins, alone!

"You have till the count of three, Tazuna-san." Naruto warned once more and instantly the old man spilled and told them everything Naruto wanted to hear.

"You lied to the Hokage about the whole mission as a mere C-rank when this could possibly be an A-rank to S-rank depending on who this Gato had sent after you. Have you not thought that most C-rank missions are done by genins and not chuunins? In a three man cell, you have three genins and an a jounin to work with. You, a mere civilian who had no experience in combat, would not be of any help if stronger enemy nins would appear. You not only endangered yourself but also the lives of Team 7, Tazuna-san." Naruto spoke calmly but the impact was there.

"I know! But we had no other choice. The country had barely enough money left so this was the only thing we could do." Tazuna pleaded to Naruto who he knew had more power than the jounin for some reason.

Naruto turned to his sensei.

"What now sensei? What should we do? Should we continue and help? Or should we go back?" Naruto asked.

He knew what he wanted but he also knew that the two others weren't ready for this kind of mission. However, it surprised the group that Sasuke spoke up.

"We should continue of course! What are you scared off Dobe?" Sasuke taunted but stopped when he recalled how he was trashed by the blond so easily.

"If it has escape your memory, Uchiha, I single handedly defeated the Demon Brothers who are classified as A-rank missing nins. May I also remind you that I defeated you and Haruno without breaking a sweat, even making our jounin sensei pushed back. I am asking because as much as I can handle such situations, I don't think the same for you and Haruno. You both would probably die if any missing nins higher than S-rank appears. One S-rank would be alright since we have our jounin. But more than that, I highly doubt you'd be able to last five minutes with an S-rank." Naruto addressed Sasuke who instantly backed down as he knew the blond was right.

Sasuke wasn't strong enough.

Naruto sighed as he turned back to Kakashi once more.

"So, sensei, what will it be?" Naruto asked casually.

Kakashi didn't know what to do. Naruto had shown impeccable skills yet he knew that if they went on, Sasuke and Sakura might get hurt as well. But with him, he might just be able to keep them from harm.

"I think we should go on. It would be a shame to our team if we return simply because of this. Let's just hope that we won't encounter any more missing nins before we reach Wave." Kakashi said and sighed.

Naruto was thoughtful for a moment before nodding.

"I hope that you would keep those two from getting hurt… or worse, killed, Hatake-sensei. Both their heads are on you now." Naruto said as he then turned to Tazuna who he motioned to keep walking now.

Kakashi was still in awe as he watched the blond order their client about without trying so hard.

"You did well Sakura. You followed orders and that is a step to becoming a good ninja." Kakashi complimented the girl who smiled a bit then began to walk forward, just behind Sasuke who was glaring at the blond in front of him.

Three hours after their encounter with the Demon Brothers, the group was on sight of the bridge when Naruto sensed an unknown chakra signature and prepared for anything. Until a snow white rabbit came out of the bushes. The thought of the animal alone being far away from the north was suspicious.

In a blink on an eye, he had trapped the rabbit in a crystal cage and knew that this was no ordinary rabbit.

Then a kunai shot out from somewhere and missed Naruto but a split second.

"My, my. I didn't expect somebody like you here; I do have to wonder, what happened to the demon brothers? They weren't able to fulfill their mission." Zabuza said, standing on his sword, which was stuck into a tree.

"Currently experiencing First Class accommodation in a place where you will be soon enough." Naruto answered as he moved to check if the others were alright.

"Momochi Zabuza, Demon of the Mist." Kakashi said.

"Ah, you've heard of me. Well, I have to ask you to hand over the old man to me. I'm not after you and your brats. If you do, I'll just let all of you run home." Zabuza said.

"Sorry, can't do that. It's our mission to protect Tazuna." Kakashi said.

"A pity." Zabuza said.

Zabuza said as he jumped down and was about to call forth water clones when Naruto had pushed the ground up, making the water go further away.

"My apologies but we have little to no time for interruptions." Naruto said as he snapped his fingers and Zabuza was surrounded by three ANBU's.

The missing nin paled white when he recognized the masks that surrounded and held him down.

"They're members of that Squad Zero, aren't they?!" he yelled.

"They are. Hawk, Owl, and Snake are three of the seven members." Naruto answered as he showed a string of chakra and pulled something towards him.

Zabuza's eyes widen when he saw Haku trapped in a cage.

"Zabuza-sama!" Haku cried out.

Naruto's KI came out and all nearly stopped breathing as he made his way towards the missing nin.

"Now, you will tell me everything I want to know before I snap your pretty assistant's head off. And trust me, I will do so." Naruto warned and stopped in front of Zabuza, his back behind the rest of Team 7 and Kakashi.

"Just who are you?" Zabuza asked, fearing as he already had a theory just who was in front of him.

With a mild genjutsu, a mask appeared in front of Naruto's face for a three seconds and Zabuza paled even more.

"Y-you… It c-can't be…" Zabuza was shaking hard.

"Now, as much as I wish to just behead you, I have to take into account that you have skills that should not go to waste. Also, my crystals tell me that you precious Haku has a Kekkei Genkai that is rare since he is obviously is the last of his clan. I can't have such a waste of skill to be lost." With a nod to his ANBU, Zabuza was tied up and placed in a prison scroll along with Haku.

Naruto pulled out the other prison scroll he had and gave it to Owl.

"The Demon Brother's are inside this scroll. I'm sure Ibiki and Anko would welcome them with open arms." Naruto told them.

The three already knew that one of them had to return to Konoha while two remain. It was up to them who would go and who were staying. They nodded and vanished before Team 7 and their client.

"Naruto, just what did you show Zabuza to make him so scared?" Kakashi asked as the boy turned around to look at them.

"I showed him his worse nightmare." Was the answer and it signaled the end of the conversation.

**~Behind the Mask~**

When they all got to Tazuna's home, his daughter, Tsunami, had berated him for lying just to get help. She then promised a delicious meal as compensation and lodging for them to stay.

Supper progressed normally until Tazuna's grandson, Inari, came down and glared at Team 7.

"You're all going to die," the boy said quietly and almost instantly the talking in the room died.

"Inari," Tsunami whispered sadly.

The boy sent a dark glare at everyone in the room and repeated what he just said.

"You're all going to die."

"And you know this because?" Naruto asked, not stopping his meal like the rest had done.

"Because that's what happens to people who face Gato." Inari answered, a bit angrier as the blond didn't even look at him.

"You know its rude to not look at people who your talking to you?" Inari exclaimed but Naruto just snorted.

"don't you know it more rude to tell people who saved your grandfather's life that they'll die? Don't you know its worse when said grandfather lied about his whole request just to get help? Because you go and proclaim things as death, what do you know about it? Have you ever killed anyone with your bare hands? I highly doubt it. You look nothing like someone who would have had killed before. Your merely channeling your anger out on us because you lose someone close to you. I've lost both my parents before I even know who they were. And you don't hear me complaining do you?" Naruto said as he finished his meal.

"If it makes you fell any better, you don't have to worry about us. Just stay out of the way and everything will be fine. However, get in my way, I will see to it that you remember never to jump into any situation without thinking first." He said as he had stood up and stopped beside Inari who was paling before leaving the house.

Sakura was shaking in her sit while Sasuke was having a hard time swallowing.

Kakashi on the other hand, tried his best to remember why Naruto's actions seemed so familiar. His thoughts brought him back to the moment that three members of Squad Zero appeared after Naruto snapped his fingers. The look of absolute fear in Momochi Zabuza's face had to be a clue. Naruto was only a genin yet he was able to paralyze and defeat the Demon Brother's alone.

**~Behind the Mask~**

Outside, Naruto was talking to Owl and Snake who had stayed. He couldn't help but laugh when Owl explained that Hawk lost to Rock-Paper-Scissors resulting him to be the one to return back to Konoha and stay there with the prisoners until Naruto returned.

"It won't be long until Hatake Kakashi will begin to ask questions. I won't be surprised if he'd be here in a few minutes. I want you both to find Gato's location, scout and gather information on everything about the man. Kill anyone that so much as appears to be a threat to Tazuna and the completion of the bridge. Leave Gato alive for now." Naruto commanded and both ANBU's nodded before disappearing.

Naruto then sat on the shore of the beach, looking out at the dark ocean in front of him. It didn't even come off as a shock when he felt Kakashi's chakra signature. He did expect it really.

"I know your there, Hatake-sensei. You might as well join me." Naruto called out as he didn't turn to look at the jounin who had then sat next to him.

"Naruto, you didn't have to be so hard on the boy. I know what he said was wrong but for him, losing—" Kakashi was cut off by Naruto who held up his hand.

"Do not talk about loses with me, Hatake-sensei. You and I know about _my_ loses. He wallowed, I persevered. That is the only difference. He should be lucky since he still has his mother and grandfather." Naruto told him coldly and Kakashi flinched.

"I'm sorry." The man apologized.

"Tell me why your really here. I'm sure that its not about the boy or what I told him. You have questions. I can sense them. Ask. I just won't promise to answer everything." Naruto stated and smirked as he finally turned to Kakashi.

Kakashi couldn't help but hold in his breath when he saw Naruto's look. He looked older than normal. The confidence in his eyes and lips spoke so loud to Kakashi that it man the man realize that the boy had been hiding so much more from everyone.

"What happened to Zabuza? I know what you said but what did you _do_?" Kakashi asked carefully as he knew that despite Naruto said that he could ask, the questions Kakashi would able to ask are limited.

"A genjutsu. One that shows him who he fears the most. I do not know who it was but when he looked up to me, you, as well as I saw how scared he was." Naruto lied smoothly as he shrugged a bit and pulled his legs up and hugged them.

"The ANBU. They came with one snap of your finger." Kakashi said, this was no longer a question. '_Why?'_

"They did. I knew from the start that they were following us. I have a feeling that the Hokage made them do so. With me being who I am, he wasn't going to take any chances." Naruto answered the hidden question that was posted.

"Just who are you, Naruto?" Naruto smirked as he tilted his head to look at his _sensei_.

"I think you know very well who I am, Hatake Kakashi. However, I do find it amusing… if only you took your place in the Shinobi Council, you'd know more about me. You wouldn't have to ask me these questions." Naruto commented, using some kind of voice that made him sound older.

Naruto then turned and his face was inches away from the jounin. Kakashi froze when he felt Naruto's breathing by his ear.

"You will have so much surprises when the time comes… And I hope you will be ready for when you learn the truth about me." He said with a husky voice to his ear and then stood up, making his way to the house, leaving a stunned jounin alone.

**~Behind the Mask~**

After minutes of discussion, Sakura was to sleep with Tsunami while Sasuke was to share with Inari. This left Kakashi to share with Naruto who didn't seem to mind share one small bed with the man. Naruto claimed the bathroom first as he made sure that he had a strong concealment seal on his ANBU tattoo. He showered and dried off, wrapping his towel around his waist and exiting the bathroom.

Kakashi was lost in his thoughts when Naruto came out and his eye grew wide.

Before him was a young boy with a well toned, perfectly tanned body, dripping went blond hair, and all wrapped in a thin white towel. Kakashi swallowed hard as he tried to get his mind to remember that Naruto was only twelve and he was his student! It wasn't right.

As Kakashi battled inside his mind, Naruto smirked and chuckled before he went over to the chair where his clothes were hanging. He could feel the man's eyes on him which made him cackle inside his mind. Naruto had an idea about how he physically looked. But to see it this close was another thing.

As he finished changing, he was sure Kakashi didn't even notice so he walked over to where the man was still sitting and leaned in and whispered to the jounin's ear huskily like early.

"Your turn, Kakashi…" he said and Kakashi snapped out of his thoughts and jumped away from the boy who was now chuckling.

Kakashi ran to the bathroom and locked the door so fast Naruto wondered if Kakashi was afraid that he would tease him more or say something else. Naruto merely chuckled as he got on the single bed and made sure that there was more room for the jounin. Naruto thought of teasing the man since he had never done such a thing before.

When Kakashi had gotten out, he was dressed and saw that Naruto was already asleep. And he stood there for what seemed like forever. When he agreed to sleep in the same room as Naruto, he had not realized earlier that he'd be sleeping _next _ to him and in the _same_ bed. Kakashi swallowed hard as he slowly made his way to the bed and got into the covers without disturbing the sleeping boy.

Naruto who was actually still awake, shifted and groaned as he turned and snuggled close to Kakashi's body. The said jounin had stiffened when the boy's arm was across his chest and the hot breath of Naruto was brushing on his shoulder. Kakashi swallowed harder and hoped to Kami that Naruto wouldn't wake up as he closed his eyes.

Naruto smirked as he snuggled closer.

**~Behind the Mask~**

_(Dreamscape of Kakashi)_

_Kakashi found himself alone on the bed. However, when he attempted to stand up, he saw that he was chained to the bed. He tried to struggle and free himself but it wasn't working. Then as he finally stopped, he felt arms touching up his legs, moving up his thighs slowly. He snapped and turned to see Naruto there with nothing but his black long pants._

"_Hmmm… Don't you look delicious, Kakashi…" Naruto whispered as he straddled the man and leaned in to whisper to his ear, causing said man to stiffen._

"_N-Naruto… What are you doing?" Kakashi asked, trying to figure out if it was all real or not._

"_Are you sure you want to ask that, Kakashi? I saw how you looked at me earlier. Now that we're alone, I wouldn't mind figuring out just what made you look at me that way." He said as he placed a soft kiss on the man's neck, making Kakashi's breathing hitch up._

"_You like this don't you…." Naruto teased as he kept trailing kisses from the neck to the shoulder then pulled away and smirk at Kakashi, licking his lips with so much lust in his eyes._

"_Na-na-Naruto… Please let me go… You don't want to do this… your too young for this!" Kakashi tried to reason._

"_Is that why you were battling in your mind earlier? Because I'm too young? Trust me Kakashi, my age is nothing but a number you shouldn't care about." Naruto told him as he slowly rocked back and forth on Kakashi's groin._

_This action made Kakashi bit his lower lip to stop himself from moaning. How Naruto was doing this and why was beyond Kakashi but he didn't want to give in. He couldn't! This was his sensei's son! And said son was and still is twelve for Kami-sama's sake!_

_Before long, Kakashi felt hands slip under his short and roaming his body. The small yet very hot pair of hands teased his skins that seem to like the heat that the hands were giving off. It was like fire to his ice and Kakashi knew that Naruto knew this for some reason._

"_You really don't have to hold back Kakashi… If you do, you'll only be tormenting yourself even more." Naruto teased further as he lifted the man's shirt and making it disappear for some reason._

_Naruto trailed kissed from Kakashi's neck down to his chest and on his stomach. Kakashi was trying so hard to hold back but Naruto knew which buttons to push and was doing so perfectly. The kisses stopped at the top of Kakashi's pants and his eyes widen when Naruto looked like he was willing to go THAT far just to get Kakashi to let go._

_(End of dream)_

"NO!" he screamed as he woke up and saw that he was alone and it was already morning.

He turned and saw that Naruto was no longer sleeping beside him. He sighed in relief as he realized it was a dream and nothing more. He got up and headed to the shower, making sure to get his _problem_ under control. He had failed noticed that on the darkened corner of the room, Naruto had watched him and laughed as he left the room and went down to see if there was anything he could do.

Naruto knew well just what Kakashi had dreamt off and so did his ANBU who were outside his window, snickering behind their masks before vanishing.

**~Behind the Mask~**

When Kakashi finished showering and got dressed, he made his way down and froze when he saw Naruto talking to Tsunami and laughed at something the lady had told him.

"_It was just a dream, Kakashi! Just a dream!"_ he thought to himself and swallowed hard before showing himself.

Sakura was the first to wake up and greeted the jounin.

"Good morning, Kakashi-sensei. How was your sleep?" she asked, trying to be cheerful as much as she could.

Kakashi saw that Sasuke, Naruto, and Tsunami were looking at him now.

"It was alright. Time for breakfast. We can train after." He said as he sat down beside the girl, far from Naruto who he didn't see smirked.

**~Behind the Mask~**

"Alright. Before we go through all the jutsus, you three have to learn how to control your chakra. By doing this, ninjutsu's would be easier to do." Kakashi explained as they all gathered in a forest clearing.

"And how do we do that, sensei?" Sakura asked.

"To test your chakra control, you all will be learning how to walk on trees. If you master that, walking on water would be next. Battlefields aren't limited to the ground. There will be battles that will happen on sand, water, and on trees. You have to learn how to do this in order to be able to move easily wherever the battle is situated on." Kakashi stated and got nods from Sakura and Sasuke. Naruto just listened.

"Can you show us how to do it sensei?" she asked once more and got a nod.

Kakashi proceeded to walked on the tree and rounded it for good measure.

"Concentrate chakra on your feet. Too much and you'll be thrown off. Too little, you'll fall. Find the balance and as you try, mark your progress with your kunais." He instructed and Sakura went first.

For someone who was useless, she managed to get the exercise first.

"That was easy." She said with a happy tone.

"Good job, Sakura. Now, walk up and down until you've exhausted your chakra. Take a break and go again." Kakashi told her and she nodded.

Sasuke went next and managed to take three steps on the side of the tree before falling.

"Ow!" he groaned as he stood up, rubbing his butt before trying again.

"You're turn Naruto." Kakashi finally addressed him for the first time since they saw each other that morning.

Naruto merely smiled and walked up the tree and back down. Sakura stared while Sasuke glared. He didn't like the fact that someone was stronger than he was. He needed the power to defeat Itachi and this blond…. Dobe had it!

To show off, Naruto walked and jumped from one side of one tree to another tree until he managed to circle the whole clearing, making Sasuke red in jealousy. Sakura just stared in awe as Naruto showed them how strong he already was. Kakashi was a bit stunned but not really shocked. He had been told that Naruto was strong and had been taught before.

"Can you do the same on water, Naruto?" Kakashi asked and got a nod.

"Very well, since you already know this exercise, I'll have to ask you to guard Tazuna instead while I supervise Sakura and Sasuke." Kakashi instructed and got another nod from the blond before he left.

He was still shaken up by the dream he had of Naruto. It made Kakashi wondered if it was really a dream or a genjutsu. If it was, Kakashi stared at the retreating for of the boy who was able to beat him yet again.

**~Behind the Mask~**

As Naruto watched Tazuna and a few men work from the sidelines, Owl and Snake made their presence known and Naruto went to the shaded area where the two were waiting.

"Yeou Taicho, it seemed that Gato had no plans on paying Zabuza if the nin managed to complete his mission. We killed off half of the strongest men Gato had hired and left the weak ones to run away for their lives. We confiscated everything Gato had and placed all of the money in Tazuna's account anonymously. He'll be notified later on today and Gato will be going down on his own. It seems that he owes multiple banks money and has yet to pay. We sent out anonymous letters to the banks o inform them that Gato has no plans of paying them. The banks will either be paying the man a visit today or tomorrow at best." Owl reported.

"Good work. You did more than instructed. As expected. Rest up somewhere. You both deserve it. Have a good breakfast and we'll meet tonight after dinner." Naruto ordered and got nods.

"Hai, Taicho." Both answered before disappearing.

Naruto was glad that they'd be able to return home sooner than planned. The longer he was away from Konoha, the more restless he became since he had never been away for too long. He had been that way even during missions. He would always make it a point to find the quickest solutions in order to get his team and himself home.

**~Behind the Mask~**

An hour after lunch, news broke out that Gato was being chased by several bank representatives and his hired men were no longer around. Then someone had come running to Tazuna's home, exclaiming excitedly that the someone from the bank that Tazuna's had an account in was looking for him to tell him that someone had anonymously deposited a large amount of money.

Tazuna had ran out instantly and by dinner time, Tazuna returned with tears in his eyes. He had told everyone that whoever had given him the money, it was more than enough for the completion of the bridge and payment for more workers and materials.

It only took two more weeks for the bridge to finished and Gato was sentenced to fifty years in prison for the crimes that had been listed and trailed against him.

"What should we name the bridge?" asked one local to Tazuna who smiled.

"The Bridge of Miracles. Because it was by a miracle that we managed to be freed and complete this for the future of our country." Tazuna answered and many nodded in agreement.

It was true. It was a miracle but only three people knew the truth.

**~Behind the Mask~**

As Team 7 made their way home, Naruto was walking beside Kakashi who had not spoken much to him. the nights that Kakashi slept next to Naruto were the hardest since _every_ night, Kakashi dreamt of Naruto and no one else. His thoughts were filled with the face of the blond twelve year old, seducing him and over powering him without using force.

"Hatake-sensei… Is something wrong?" Naruto asked him as he made the jounin snap out of his thoughts.

"Huh? Did you say something Naruto?" Kakashi asked as he turned to Naruto who sighed.

"I asked if something was wrong. You barely spoke to me for the last two weeks now. If you do. It's mostly orders and instructions for training. Have I said or done something wrong?" Naruto asked and Kakashi shook his head.

"No. I've just had too much to think about. I'm sorry if I made you think that you did something wrong." Kakashi lied but Naruto saw through it.

"Please don't lie to me, sensei. I know you are. But I won't push." Naruto said as he sighed and walked ahead, leaving the jounin to think about whatever it was he was thinking.

As they saw the gates of Konoha, everyone had mixed feelings. Sasuke was secretly glad to be back. Sakura wasn't really looking forward to head home since he knew her parents weren't going to be pleased to see her. She knew well that her father wouldn't be so glad that she came back alive.

Kakashi was relieved. Now that they were back in Konoha, he wouldn't be able to dream of Naruto since they wouldn't be sleeping with each other anymore.

The chuunins at the gate greeted them and Sasuke caught sight of the chuunins bowing to Naruto who nodded back. As they made their way to the Hokage Tower, Sasuke saw blurred figures following them since them entered the village. Sakura had lost all cheeriness she usually had and wondered if Ino wouldn't mind having her sleep over for a few days.

**~Behind the Mask~**

"Ahh… Team 7. Welcome back. The ANBU that I had assigned to follow you had reported about Zabuza and the Demon Brothers. This being said, your payment had turned from C-rank to an S-rank due to the missing nins. And Tazuna had sent additional payment as bonus for having dealt with the whole situation and finishing the mission faster than he thought." Hiruzen said as he gave them four envelopes before turning to Naruto.

"By the way Naruto, Hawk reported that you wished to speak to Zabuza and Haku before we present them to the council for their judgment. Is that true?" he asked and got a nod.

"It is, jiji. Momochi Zabuza, despite being a missing nin is still one of the Nine Legendary Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist. Haku, his male apprentice and accomplice, had a Kekkei Genkai that I wish to preserve. The crystals that I kept him in informed me that he is also an orphan from the events that happened in Kirigakure. I wish to study his skills and both might be good additional to Konoha's shinobi rank. If needed be, I will adopt them into my clan and have them under supervision. This is a win-win situation for them and us." Naruto informed the Hokage who knew that Naruto was right.

"Very well Naruto. I will leave this situation with you. When you say that everything is ready, I will call on a council meeting and you may present your case to them. However, I know that they would end up seeing it your way. You have never been wrong yet. And I doubt you would start now." The Hokage showed so much trust that it amazed the rest of Team 7.

"It'll speak with them tomorrow after breakfast… before we go, what did you do to the Demon Brothers?" Naruto asked.

The Hokage merely smiled as he puffed his pipe.

"The brothers are still residing in Anko and Ibiki's watch. They waited for you to return to see if you wish to question them before they turn over the prisoners and collect their bounty which will be given to you since you captured them." He said and Naruto chuckled.

"Have a pleasant day, Hokage-jiji." Naruto said as he bid the Hokage and bowed to his teammates before leaving first.

Sakura and Sasuke bowed and left as well.

"I'm sensing you wish to speak with me alone, Kakashi?" Hiruzen asked and got a nod.

"I want to know just who Naruto is, Hokage-sama." Kakashi answered bluntly which made the old man sigh heavily.

"You have to understand Kakashi… Anything and everything that concern Naruto is for shinobi and civilian council members only." Hiruzen informed him which made Kakashi sigh in defeat.

"Unless… you take your father's seat as the Hatake of the Shinobi council, it is only then you will know just _who_ Naruto is." He added and this option was the _only_ option Kakashi had if the man wanted to know the whole truth about Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto.

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**A/N: That's all for now! How was it? Shortest chapter I think. This is an intermission just before they leave for Wave. Did you like it? Read and review then please. ^_^**


	7. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO NO MATTER HOW MUCH I WANT TOO!**

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**Unedited.**

* * *

**6. Let The Cat Out Of The Bag**

* * *

Kakashi had given his team the day off since they had just gotten back from an A-rank mission. He had taken the time to look into everything that concerned one Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto. Yes, the boy was his sensei's son and that said boy was a genius. But aside from that? Aside from knowing that Naruto was talented in seals, Kakashi knew nothing of his student. The files he had about Naruto wasn't helpful. Kakashi knew deep inside his soul that there was more to the boy than what the eyes could see.

He recalled what Naruto and the Hokage had told him.

"…_if only you took your place in the Shinobi Council, you'd know more about me. You wouldn't have to ask me these questions."_

Naruto's voice and how he looked at Kakashi that night was clear in his mind which was then replaced by the Hokage.

"_Unless… you take your father's seat as the Hatake of the Shinobi council, it is only then you will know just __who__ Naruto is."_

Kakashi fell back on his bed, tired and a bit frustrated that the only way for him to get the information he wanted was by the accepting the role that he swore he never would accept when he came of age. But here he was, facing the only solution to his problem.

**~Behind the Mask~**

The next day, just after lunch, the Hokage had called for another gathering for both the Shinobi and Civilian Council. However, minus the Hokage, the rest of the room was in shock. The one eyed jounin had taken the Hatake sit at the Shinobi council side which made the Hokage smirk for a moment before turning serious. Everyone wanted to ask why Kakashi was there but they knew that they would find their answer later on without having to ask.

"Good afternoon, councilmen. I have called you all here this afternoon after hearing Captain Yeou's report about the two captives that Team 7 had manage to bring back from their C-rank mission turned B-rank from Wave. Missing nin Momochi Zabuza and his accomplice, Haku, have been thoroughly checked by Squad Zero and have agreed to submit and become nins of Konoha." He began and Kakashi was stunned.

"And we take that there is more, Hokage-sama?" Inoichi asked but knew that there is really more.

"Yes. According to the report, both will be very excellent additional to our ranks and with training from Captain Yeou himself, he assures that one month will suffice and both new members will be able to perform well for the special tests that will be conducted by myself and the rest of the Squad Zero in front of the Council." The Hokage told the members gathered who couldn't believe what they were hearing.

"One month? Surely that would—" Koharu tried to protest but was stopped by Hiashi.

"You forget just who Captain Yeou is. One month would definitely be more than enough. Should I remind everyone here the one week he requested for the five other members of his team after Snake and Owl?" he reminded them and everyone was shuddering at the memory.

The mere fact that five new ANBU recruits were sent to spend a week by the Kiri borders was a nightmare to them. They couldn't imagine how the five managed to stay alive. They had heard the report that the week spent cost around three dozen or more ninjas from Kiri, ranging from chuunins to hunter nins.

Again, Kakashi was in shock. He wandered just who his Commander was and what had happened during that week the Hyuuga Clan Head mentioned.

Then, a knock on the door broke the silence and everyone turned to the door to see a familiar fox managed nin enter and his Squad right behind him.

"Ah, Captain. Just in time. We were just discussing your report on the two nins that are to be trained by you. Anything else you wish to mention?" the old man asked with a smile that the others knew was a fraction of his excitement.

"Haku, the accomplice, has a special Kekkai Genkai that I wish to study further more. He is the only survivor of his clan and the possibility of having that ability reproduce if I ask it of him. His loyalty and his way of being grateful for the chance will be enough to have access to an endangered Kekkai Genkai." The masked Captain reported and everyone sans Kakashi nodded slowly.

"And as your civilian counterpart, what can you report about the two nins?" Hiruzen asked and knew that Naruto was smirking already behind his mask. Kakashi was within the blond's sight and without hesitation, Yeou took off his fox mask to reveal the smirking face of Naruto.

"What?!" Kakashi instantly stood up and stared at the blond who was smirking at him.

"It seems that you took my advice and took your seat within the Shinobi Council side, Hatake-sensei. Welcome." Naruto greeted before turning back to the Hokage who looked so amused.

"As for my own observations, if the council does not protest, I would like them both to be placed under my Clan. Rest assured that Zabuza and Haku will never betray Konoha. You have my word as both the Captain Yeou and Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto that both nins will not only be assets to Konoha, but with them within our ranks, they will further push our reputations as the best village within the Fire Country. A few more years and we will rival that of the Lightning Country soon." Naruto said and sounded so sure.

Every member could feel his confidence and knew that he would be able to accomplish his goals indeed.

"The civilian council will not protest to this." Koharu spoke and the civilians nodded.

The Shinobis turned to each other before turning to the Hokage and nodded.

"The Shinobi council does not protest as well. From this day forward, Momochi Zabuza and Haku will be members of the Namikaze Clan." The Hokage addressed and everyone nodded.

"Hokage-jiji, Zabuza requested as well that he be allowed to change his name. He wishes to completely forget his old self as Zabuza. What name he wishes, I know not yet. But I shall ask once more after this meeting." Naruto said and the Hokage nodded.

"Well, I don't see anything wrong with it. Very well, request granted. The special tests shall commence in a month's time and will be viewed by the council when began. As for now, session is dismissed. Kakashi, please proceed to my office. Naruto." The Hokage turned to Naruto who knew that he was to follow as well.

The Shinobi clan heads were snickering a bit when Kakashi was still a bit stunned after knowing that his 'genin' student was no genin at all.

**~Behind the Mask~**

Inside the Hokage's office, Naruto looked so amused since Kakashi still looked like he had been slapped with the most incredulous news he had ever heard. Which really is true since he indeed had been hit with such a news.

"Kakashi, I know you have questions. Feel free to ask. I'm Naruto won't mind answering a few." The Hokage said and smirked at Naruto who simply nodded.

Kakashi finally snapped out of his stupor and turned to stare at Naruto for a few moments before he finally found the words to speak up.

"Your Captain Yeou." Was the first thing he said and got a nod from the blond.

"You've been captain for nearly three years." Another nod.

"And you are also the commander of ANBU." Again, another nod.

"Were you ever going to tell me?" Naruto shook his head.

"We didn't plan for you to know my real identity really. However, due to the mishaps during the Wave mission I knew that it would inevitable to hide my skills. It would have taken a few days, a month at most for you to piece all the clues together and find out who I am. But, you knowing may or may not change the mission I am currently undertaking." Naruto spoke so formally that Kakashi sat straight, remembering that this was his Commander.

"My long term mission is to protect the last remaining Uchiha in Konoha and to make sure he does not leave the village under any circumstances. The mission will only end when the one who had requested the mission return and deem it safe for the mission to end." Naruto explained further and Kakashi knew who the blond was taking about: Uchiha Itachi.

"Since you now know who I am behind the mask, I order you to remain as is. You are not to inform the other two or show any changes that I know you will undoubtly may show when we meet up as a team. You are to pretend that you do not know that Captain Yeou and Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto is one and the same. This is a SS-rank secret, punishable by extreme torture and death if broken." Kakashi winced but nodded.

"Yes sir." He answered.

"Any more questions?" the Hokage asked with an amused smile.

"Just one more sir… That time when Team 7 was here to report, who was standing in as Captain Yeou?" he asked and both the Hokage and Naruto laughed.

The 'Naruto' present then was a clone. I was in the same room as you as Captain Yeou. Remember when Haruno tried to punch my clone and it jumped away? It had to move or else risk dispelling right then and there." Naruto answered and got a small nod.

"One thing you have to understand Kakashi, as Naruto, I am the only son of the Yondaime Hokage, your former sensei. I am a member also of both the civilian council and shinobi council. And as Captain Yeou, I have served the village since I was nearly ten and have not failed once during my active service. Like I said, you knowing the truth about my being may or may not affect the future events before us. However, I will warn you that if you serve to hinder my tasks, as your Commander still, I will personally see to your punishment." Naruto warned him and Kakashi paled.

He knew well that his Commander's punishments were beyond the norm and would most likely be considered as torture but no one in their right minds would dare to say it to the ANBU Commander's face and walk away alive and unscratched.

"I understand, Sir." Kakashi answered once more and got a nod.

Kakashi was torn between pure admiration and guilt for some reason. He admired the Commander for being able to have done the things he did at his age and guilt because Kakashi had failed his sensei. He had vowed to care for the boy but up till recently, he had never seen Naruto.

Naruto studied the jounin before him and knew exactly what was going through the man's mind. This fact made Naruto sigh and turn to the Hokage.

"If we are done here, I would like to speak to Kakashi in private, Hokage-jiji." Naruto said seriously and the Hokage nodded.

Kakashi wondered what his Commander would want to say to him but knew that he had to simply wait. The blond stood up and turned to put back his mask on.

"Follow me, Kakashi." Naruto said as he exited the office via the door and walked calmly out the Tower.

Kakashi walked just behind the blond yet not completely behind. Silence stood between them as they walked the streets before Naruto grabbed Kakashi's arm and teleported them directly into the Namikaze library. Kakashi dropped down on his knees to catch his breath. He had never moved that way before and he was now trying to settle his upraising stomach.

Naruto then took off his mask before turning to face Kakashi who finally got himself in one piece once more. Naruto ushered Kakashi to the sofa and sat next to the man.

"I know the look you had earlier and its better if we have this talk with no one else to hear what I have to tell you…" Naruto began before he sighed.

"Kakashi… I know that you think you ought to have done more for me. You think that you failed my father for not being able to have protected me or cared for me. I am telling you now that such feelings, appreciate, will only be a burden to you. I do not wish you to feel guilty at all. I chose to hide away and train away from the eyes and knowledge of the village. Things could have gone worse if I subjected myself to their mercy. If I had not been trained, I would probably have been weak and a pariah of this village; scorned for actions that I had no control over and had no hand in. I did what I thought was best for me. You have to understand that how I grew up was because of my choices and you had no control over them like how I had no control over me being the sacrifice and my father paying his own life for the sake of the village."

He meant every word of it and he hoped Kakashi understood it.

It took a while before Kakashi pulled down his mask and showed Naruto his face. The blond just sat there and looked at him, waiting for the man to speak.

"I know… I just… I just wish things were different. You deserve a better childhood and not this one were you are in service and carrying such a burden at a young age. You should be having fun and enjoying your youth and not trapped like us adults who have soiled our hands for—" Kakashi was cut off from his ramblings when Naruto had pressed his lips on the jounins who was stunned a bit before holding on to Naruto.

Kakashi knew this was wrong but it felt so right. Naruto fit perfect in his arms and the blond had wrapped his arms around Kakashi's neck. Naruto was coaxing Kakashi's lips to part and allow Naruto entrance. The battle didn't last long as Kakashi granted the blond entrance and their tongues danced in perfect harmony as their breathing.

A few more moments and both had pulled away slowly, panting as they tried to catch their breathes.

Naruto stroked Kakashi's cheek and actually smiled at him. Kakashi stared at Naruto's smile for so long before heaving a deep sigh which made Naruto chuckle. Kakashi was so easy to read which made Naruto wonder if the man knew it.

"I'm not sure if you know but you're so easy to read, Kakashi. You wear your emotions on your sleeve really." He teased before kissing Kakashi once more before pulling away and smiling so peacefully at the man. A smile that Kakashi's heart knew was so rarely given.

"My age is only a number you have shouldn't care about, Kakashi." Naruto told him and Kakashi froze.

*_FLASHBACK*_

_Kakashi found himself alone on the bed. However, when he attempted to stand up, he saw that he was chained to the bed. He tried to struggle and free himself but it wasn't working. Then as he finally stopped, he felt arms touching up his legs, moving up his thighs slowly. He snapped and turned to see Naruto there with nothing but his black long pants._

_"Hmmm… Don't you look delicious, Kakashi…" Naruto whispered as he straddled the man and leaned in to whisper to his ear, causing said man to stiffen._

_"N-Naruto… What are you doing?" Kakashi asked, trying to figure out if it was all real or not._

_"Are you sure you want to ask that, Kakashi? I saw how you looked at me earlier. Now that we're alone, I wouldn't mind figuring out just what made you look at me that way." He said as he placed a soft kiss on the man's neck, making Kakashi's breathing hitch up._

_"You like this don't you…." Naruto teased as he kept trailing kisses from the neck to the shoulder then pulled away and smirk at Kakashi, licking his lips with so much lust in his eyes._

_"Na-na-Naruto… Please let me go… You don't want to do this… your too young for this!" Kakashi tried to reason._

_"Is that why you were battling in your mind earlier? Because I'm too young? Trust me Kakashi, my age is nothing but a number you shouldn't care about." Naruto told him as he slowly rocked back and forth on Kakashi's groin._

_*END OF FLASHBACK*_

Kakashi's eyes widen when he saw Naruto smirking at him.

"You remember something… Kakashi?" Naruto whispered as he leaned closer to his ear which man the man shudder.

"B-b-b-b-but I thought that it was just a d-d-dream…" he stuttered and Naruto smirked wider.

"Was it?" he chuckled and hugged Kakashi.

"Trust me… my age won't matter for long." He reassured the man who simply held him close.

"_I am so sorry sensei…. I truly am in love with your son…. But this way… I can protect him better. I'll love him and care for him. I promise."_ Kakashi prayed in his mind and hoped that his sensei would accept it.

Naruto pulled away, smiling at the man.

"Well, at least that's one cat out of the bag." He joked and laughed.

Kakashi couldn't help it but laugh along.

"Yeah, that's one cat out of this bag indeed. And I can't wait for the other cats too." Kakashi agreed.

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**A/N: That's all for now! How was it? Did you like it? Read and review then please. ^_^**


	8. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO NO MATTER HOW MUCH I WANT TOO!**

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**7. Sticks and Stones Can Break Bones**

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The next few days had been rough for many of the members of Team 7. Well two of them excluded really. Naruto and Kakashi didn't think that the trainings, D-ranks, and joint sparring session with other genin team were a bother. Sasuke didn't like it because both Sakura and Ino kept coming on to Sasuke while the rest of them were trying to focus on training. It got irritating to the point that Sasuke blew fire at the two that cause the bottom parts of their clothes to be partially incinerated beyond repair. After that flaming moment, both the girls kept away as far from the raven haired idol as they could.

Shikamaru was lounging about with Chouji next to him. Hinata was with Tenten who was showing her how to handle a bo staff. Neji was sparring against Naruto which had been against Kakashi's judgment but was overruled by the other jounins. Naruto agreed and sparred.

"This may just be a training session but I will not go easy on you. It is your fate to taste defeat against me." Neji said as he got into his stance while Naruto narrowed his eyes.

Kakashi was watching this and was worried for the male Hyuuga.

"Really? And you believe that there is no other way around this so-called fate you speak off?" Naruto asked with humor lacing his words.

"It is my fate to defeat you and show you your place!" Neji answered him.

However, in a blink of an eye, Naruto disappeared from his sight and appeared behind him. Everyone else stopped whatever they were doing to watch. Even Sasuke had his eyes wide when he saw what happened. He didn't even see Naruto move at all.

With on punch, the male Hyuuga was sent flying forward and slammed against a tree. Naruto looked serious and Kakashi merely sighed. He'd interfere when needed. Naruto wasn't the type to just lose control.

"I detest people like you. Fate and destiny? I write my own destiny." He spat as Neji stood up but was then thrown back to the direction of where he was standing not a twenty seconds ago.

Naruto was scary and the others were shivering as they watched the 'strongest' of the genin rookies get trashed by the blond. To add insult to Neji's obvious defeat, Naruto used the Hyuuga's own paralyzing technique and attacked Neji's nerve points, paralyzing him in the center of the clearing.

"Can't move? I could kill you where you stand, Hyuuga. Just three points and I can stop your heart from beating. And it won't even be considered murder." Naruto whispered so low that only Neji could hear.

The male Hyuuga in question stared with undiluted fear in his eyes. The person before him… was stronger than Neji.

No.

Uzumaki Naruto was stronger than all the genins combined.

"And Naruto wins this round. Release him please, Naruto." Kakashi intervened as it was already obvious that Neji was no longer able to fight.

Naruto did as he was told and released Neji from his paralysis before turning to face the one eyed jounin.

"Ne, Kaka-sensei… Mind sparring with me? If you beat me, I'll get you the second book of Icha Icha Paradise." Naruto said and smirked.

"And if I lose?" Kakashi asked, humoring the blond for the sake of appearance.

He already knew he'd lose actually. There was no way he'd be able to win against his Commander.

"If I win… hmmm… you'll treat me to dinner." Naruto answered and chuckled.

The real reward was 'Go on a date with me', which wasn't really a reward for Naruto since Kakashi would willingly go out with the blond… win or lose.

"Get ready to lose, Naruto." Kakashi said confidently and chuckled.

Gai and Asuma were cheering for their colleague while Kurenai merely watched.

"Don't you dare hold back, sensei. I'll be really cross if you do." Naruto said as he disappeared instantly.

Kakashi disappeared too and both were crossing kunais in the middle of the clearing.

"I would never hold back, Naru-chan." Kakashi teased and both disappeared once more.

The others who were watching didn't know how to react. Right before their very eyes, the great copy- cat Kakashi was head to head with a 'genin' of their age.

Instantly, the members of Naruto's squad appeared next to the jounins.

"Kakashi better not hold back." Said Sparrow and got nods from the rest.

"**Katon: Hidora no Jutsu**" Naruto said and did a five seal instead of the usual ten, sending three streams of fire towards Kakashi.

The jounins knew it was different since the fire streams weren't heading to the same direction. One was rounding to the right, the other to the left while the middle one was the only one going straight. If Kakashi didn't let the earth swallow him down, the fire streams would have done him a great deal of damage.

However, Naruto smirked and did another set of five seals.

"**Doton: Kekkai Doroudomu**" he said and slammed his hand to the ground, causing Kakashi to reappear but inside an earth prison cell.

"I did warn you not to hold back." Naruto teased and smirked.

Kakashi used his chidori and freed himself from the earth prinson cell and created a clone who ran forward. To the watcher's surprise, Naruto created four clones: a water clone, a fire clone, an earth clone, and a lightning clone.

The lightning clone met the clone Kakashi head on while the other three ran towards the real one. Kakashi's visible eye widen as he then was forced to have to use the Sharingan. Naruto smirked again, wider this time.

"that won't work Kaka-sensei. I am immune to the three tomoe Sharingan. The only one that can probably have any effect would be the Tsukiyomi." Naruto informed him as he himself vanished and reappeared behind Kakashi who vanished in a puff of smoke. The clones protected the real Naruto and then turned to the real Naruto's left where Kakashi appeared, killing the earth clone with a chidori. But the fire clone got to him, punching his stomach, sending him flying back and crashing into a tree that snapped and began to fall. The stomach area of Kakashi's clothes were burnt as they turned to see the fire clone was no longer there.

The Kakashi clone and the lightning clone were no longer there as well. The real Naruto and the water clone smirked at each other before a wind clone of Naruto appeared and the water clone disappeared. Both nodded and began to run.

"**Fuuton: Rasen Shuriken!**" both said and two huge blue chakra like shurikens appeared and thrown towards the jounin who instantly got back to his feet and avoided the impact of the chakra like projectiles.

The jounins and genins watching were in utter shock. Not only was Kakashi being pushed back, he was injured as well… by a 'genin'. The ANBU who were there merely watched with amusement. They knew their Captain was holding back. If he wasn't, Kakashi would have been defeated ten seconds after the spar began.

Kakashi wondered how he'd get the blond off guard. There had to be a way.

Just then, Naruto was behind him and with a punch to his stomach once more, Kakashi was sent towards the clearing.

"**Doton: Doryu Heki**." Naruto said and a mud wall appeared, catching Kakashi and strapping him in. His hands and feet were engulfed with mud to make sure he wouldn't be able to do anything. Even his mouth was covered with an earth version of duct tape.

"Don't bother trying to get free, Kaka-sensei. The more chakra you try to use, the more the mud sips it out of you. It will drain you faster if you struggle." Naruto appeared in front of the jounin who instantly stopped and sighed.

Before anyone else could say anything, the ANBU disappeared and Kakashi was released. Naruto helped him up and chuckled.

"You said no holding back but you did." Kakashi accused Naruto in a low volume.

"If I didn't, you would have gotten hurt worse than you are now. I don't plan on killing you, Kakashi." Naruto answered him and was grateful when Gai ran to help the blond carry Kakashi.

However, Naruto couldn't help but laugh when Kakashi was riding piggyback style on Gai who had his bright smile. The one eyed jounin sighed in defeat as he knew he'd be in for an embarrassing moment in front of Naruto, nevermind the others.

"YOSH! YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH ARE BURNING SO BRIGHT, NARUTO-KUN! WHEN YOUR OLDER, I WILL CHALLENGE YOU MYSELF IN A TAIJUTSU SPAR! AND WE'LL SEE WHO'S FLAMES WILL BURN BRIGHTER!" Gai said in his usual loud tone which made Naruto's eye twitch.

"I think I will have that challenge now." Naruto said calmly as he took off his jacket. He tossed it to the side which created a 'thud' sound and the jacket sunk into the ground.

The other genins were more stunned than ever. Naruto had been trashing Kakashi with a heavy weighing jacket?

Asuma instantly got Kakashi off Gai and hurried away. They knew what was going to happen next. Naruto didn't like loud noises and Gai practically screamed at his face.

Naruto got into a stance while Gai was still processing what just happened. He then realized that he screamed at the boy and was now obviously going to be trashed, if Kakashi's defeat was any indication… which it was!

Lee was about to yell when Sakura and Ino covered his mouth instantly.

"Don't scream. Naruto will hurt you next if you do." Sakura hissed and released Lee.

Both girls knew that being loud was going to be a sure fire way to get the blond's negative attention on them. They didn't really care if Lee got hurt. But as a fellow genin, they had to look after their own. Kakashi, a jounin, was defeated easily by Naruto. How much more a genin like Lee.

Gai swallowed and got into his own stance.

In a split second, Naruto vanished and appeared in front of Gai proceeded to bombard the older man with punches and kicks. Gai instantly defended himself and blocked the blows. But as he did so, he could feel the pain building up as he received punch after punch and kick after kick.

He didn't know how long it had been since he had started to defend himself but the next second blew by that Naruto tripped his legs and punched him in the stomach, slamming him hard into the ground, causing a small crater to appear after the impact.

Gai got the wind knocked out of him but he did his best to get back up. However, just as he was back on his feet, Naruto was showering him with punches and kicks once more. They're movements were so fast even the Hyuuga's were having a hard time catching up. Even Kakashi's Sharingan was starting to hurt.

Right then and there, Sasuke's two tomoe Sharingan activated. But it pained the Uchiha as he watched. He was able to see it better than the rest but the speed the blond was going at was making his eyes hurt. He had to look away and close his Sharingan. He'd ask for Kakashi's help later on.

Normally, Sasuke wouldn't ask for help but since he wanted to be strong and defeat the blond. If he managed that, he'd be able to defeat his older brother too.

Gai was getting weaker and he knew he wouldn't last. He was about to open a gate but Naruto obviously saw through it and sealed using the Hakke Rokujuuyonshou which both Hyuuga's instantly recognized. Neji knew his sensei was going to lose. And when Naruto was done, Gai felt on the ground, weak and tired.

"Be glad that I wouldn't do to you what I did to Anko, Gai-sensei." Naruto said as he reversed what he did to the man and this time, Gai fell face forward, unconscious.

Asuma walked up and carried the unconscious taijutsu master to the side where Kakashi was recuperating.

The rest of the genins didn't say anything when Naruto walked off the clearing and sat next to Kakashi. Sakura knew better than to say anything. She had learned the hard way. Ino learned from Sakura's mistake and swore to never repeat what her best friend did. Kiba who normally would have an arrogant thing to say, kept quiet. He saw two jounins getting beat up in front of him by a boy his own age. If they lost, Kiba knew he had no chance on winning. Akamaru growled at him to remind him that if he opened his mouth, Akamaru wasn't going to back him up if Naruto challenged the to a fight.

The rest just kept quiet until Kurenai had confirmed with Hinata's help that Gai was alright.

"Listen up, this joint training is now over. Your have three days to rest up. After that, you will be informed where the next team meeting will be." Asuma spoke for the rest of the jounins who nodded sans Gai who was still unconscious.

The genins nodded and all ran off immediately. Not because they were afraid. They just didn't like the tension that was there. Lee helped Neji to walk while Tenten and Hinata followed them. Asuma carried Gai while Kurenai turned to Kakashi and Naruto before sighing and leaving the two behind.

When they were alone, Kakashi sighed deeply.

"You didn't have to be so rough, you know." Kakashi whined a bit as his head fell on Naruto's lap.

Naruto chuckled and ran his fingers through the silver hair. It was smooth and soft which made Naruto smile a bit.

"I did warn you didn't I? Not my fault you held back and didn't believe me." He said and got another sigh.

"All this for a date? I would have gone out with you without being trashed around." Kakashi whined again and got a laugh from the blond.

"I didn't beat you and Gai so badly just because I wanted to go out with you and that Gai was too loud. It was also a statement to the others that they are far from my level and if they didn't shape up, they'd be killed in the battle field… or worse, I'd kill them 'accidentally' during a sparring session." Naruto explained as he looked down at Kakashi who understood what the boy was saying.

But still, to Kakashi, Naruto had been too rough on him.

"Will you ever tell the others who you really are?" Kakashi asked as he looked up at Naruto who sighed.

"I don't know… maybe… but at the moment, they are better off not knowing. They won't be able to accept it. Sasuke would be the most difficult of all. He wants the strength and power I have and he will do everything it seems to gain power to avenge his kin." Naruto told Kakashi who nodded in understanding.

Sasuke wanted to find Itachi for revenge. Naruto seem like he knew something that Kakashi didn't. He wanted to ask but knew better than to. He'd find out eventually.

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**A/N: That's all for now! How was it? Did you like it? Read and review then please. ^_^**


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